The number of passengers at Edinburgh Airport has fallen after a route to London Stansted was cut.
Overall passenger numbers were 1,309,170 in October, a dip of 1% compared to the same month the previous year.
The figures mark the first fall in passenger numbers in five years, apart from during severe weather as the Beast from the East hit in March 2018, causing a 0.1% decline.
READ MORE: Edinburgh Airport posts further passenger growth
A 6.1% drop in domestic travellers drove the overall reduction last month, with the airport highlighting that Ryanair stopped its Stansted flight in October.
International passenger figures rose to 850,484 last month – up 2% on October 2018 – with the boost credited to strong growth in short-haul destinations.
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Among the new routes since October 2018 are flights to Munich, Bergen, Stavanger, Aalborg, Vienna, Billund, Luxembourg and Bucharest.
Edinburgh Airport chief executive Gordon Dewar said: “We’ve had almost 60 months of continuous growth and it’s unfortunate that we’ve seen this temporary fall in passenger numbers – something we earlier this year predicted would happen.
“It shows us that growth is not guaranteed and it is only possible with hard work and a collaborative approach.”
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