International air passengers soar

BAA Scotland airports have flights to 150 destinations worldwide

The number of people taking international flights to and from Scotland has grown by more than half a million in the last year.

Figures from BAA Scotland, which operates Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports, said numbers rose by 6.7% to 8.7 million in the year to May.

But domestic travel fell by 2.8% over the same period.

The airports handled a total of 21.1 million domestic and international passengers over the 12 month period.

BAA Scotland said it had invested £111m in expanding flights from Scottish airports since its launch in 2002.

These are testing times for airlines around the world, with soaring fuel prices resulting in higher ticket prices and dampening demand for air travel Donald Morrison BAA Scotland

Since then, international traffic has grown by almost 40%, with dozens of new European and long haul destinations routes added.

This summer, almost 150 worldwide destinations will be served by the three airports, including 35 new routes.

BAA Scotland spokesman Donald Morrison said: "Over the past six years, we have supported our airline partners to the tune of £111m through reduced landing charges and direct marketing support, including £23.5 million last year alone.

"This investment has fostered a massive expansion of international travel to and from Scotland, attracted major international carriers such as Emirates, Continental, Zoom, Delta and US Airways, and supported the expansion plans of a number of UK based airlines like easyJet and flyglobespan.

"At this challenging time, it is vital that we continue to support our airlines and work with them to promote Scotland as a business and leisure destination."

However, the figures showed the number of people using BAA Scotland airports last month was 3.8% lower than in May 2007.

'Bigger picture'

A fall of 6.4% in domestic traffic accounted for most of the drop, but international traffic was also slightly lower.

BAA put this down to consolidation by the major charter airlines.

Mr Morrison said: "The bigger picture shows the market in Scotland remains resilient in the face of global pressures, with international travel continuing to soar and record numbers of passengers using Scotland's airports.

"These are testing times for airlines around the world, with soaring fuel prices resulting in higher ticket prices and dampening demand for air travel."