Edinburgh Airport first flung its doors open in 1977 when international travel was starting to get more commonplace and we were all jetting off on annual summer holidays more regularly. The Airport has come a long way since: it’s now the fifth biggest airport in Britain in terms of passenger numbers and connects passengers to countries all over the world.
And it’s set to get even bigger: the airport has just announced plans for a £25 million expansion as part of a massive £150 million investment project. The new terminal will feature a much larger security area so travellers spend less time queuing and more time making use of the terminal’s brand new retail and business centre.
The airport will soon be linked to the city centre through a tram network which is being constructed, making it easy for travellers to get to and from the city centre cheaply and quickly.
Given Edinburgh’s reputation for being a cultural hotspot, there are also plans for the walkway linking the airport to the tram stop to be filled with performers and exhibits to entertain commuters as they make their journey. Edinburgh never missed an opportunity to entertain.
A busy airport: a day in the life of Edinburgh Airport
Every day, 24,600 people fly from or to Edinburgh Airport – that’s equivalent of the population of Stirling, to put things in context. That figure is set to keep on rising, though: the record for passenger numbers was actually broken in July, when the airport saw over one million people travelling through it, a 13.1% from the same period last year.
The airport is used by over 40 different airlines and 311 planes take off or land here every single day.
Sustainability and the community
Yes it’s a very busy airport, but it tries to minimise its environmental footprint where it can. Edinburgh Airport’s noise insulation scheme is in place to look out for the interests of residents nearby and they have regular initiatives to support the local community.
And as well as being a huge global transport hub, Edinburgh Airport supports artists from across Scotland. Travellers with time to kill can look at the paintings and browse the ceramics, jewellery and crafts before boarding their flight. If anything takes your fancy, you can buy it right there on then or buy them online on the airport’s online art gallery’s website.
Down time at the airport
If you’ve gotten to the airport with plenty of time to spare, all the better – Edinburgh Airport is full of great eating and drinking options. Grab some healthy sushi at Yo Sushi!, a burger and a pint at Weatherspoons or treat yourself to champagne and lobster at Thermidors Seafood Bar.
If you’re stopping off at overnight en route to somewhere off (or have a painfully early flight), there’s a Marriott airport hotel just a short drive away where you can sleep, eat, swim or sweat out your toxins at the gym.
Where is everyone going?
Most travellers flying from Edinburgh Airport are heading to European or domestic destinations. And it seems that London is a particularly popular destination for Edinburgh travellers: Heathrow Airport, followed by Gatwick Airport, are the top to destinations from Edinburgh. Not surprising, really given the amount of business that’s done between London and Edinburgh. It seems we just can’t get enough of our capital city: every day 46 flights take off from Edinburgh every day. That’s about 324 every week and 16,790 a year.
But you can fly from Edinburgh Airport direct to a huge number of international destinations in far flung parts of the globe too. Outside of Europe, New York is the most popular international destination.
