Edinburgh Airport

Edinburgh Airport
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Global Infrastructure Partners
Operator Edinburgh Airport Ltd.
Serves Edinburgh, Glasgow, Lothian, Fife, the Scottish Borders and Central Scotland
Location Ingliston, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Elevation AMSL 136 ft / 41 m
Coordinates 55°57′00″N 003°22′21″W / 55.95000°N 3.37250°W / 55.95000; -3.37250Coordinates: 55°57′00″N 003°22′21″W / 55.95000°N 3.37250°W / 55.95000; -3.37250
Website www.edinburghairport.com
Map
EGPH
Location in Edinburgh
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
06/24 2,556 8,386 Asphalt
Statistics (2017)
Passengers 13,410,256
Passenger change 16–17 Increase8.6%
Aircraft movements 128,675
Movements change 16–17 Increase5.3%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1]
Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2]

Edinburgh Airport (Scots: Edinburgh Airport, Scottish Gaelic: Port-adhair Dhùn Èideann) (IATA: EDI, ICAO: EGPH) is an airport located in the Ingliston area of the City of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the busiest airport in Scotland in 2016, handling over 12.3 million passengers in that year, an increase of 11.1% compared with 2015. It was also the sixth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom by total passengers in 2016.[2] It is located 5 NM (9.3 km; 5.8 mi)[1] west of the city centre, just off the M8 and M9 motorways. It is owned and operated by Global Infrastructure Partners, who are also the majority shareholder and lead the management of Gatwick Airport.[3] The airport has one runway and one passenger terminal, and employs about 2,500 people.

History

Early years

Turnhouse Aerodrome was the most northerly British air defence base in World War I used by the Royal Flying Corps. The small base opened in 1916[4] and it was used to house the 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron from 1925, which consisted of DH 9As, Westland Wapitis, Hawker Harts, and Hawker Hind light bombers. All the aircraft used a grass air strip.

In 1918 the Royal Air Force was formed and the airfield was named RAF Turnhouse and ownership transferred to the Ministry of Defence.

When the Second World War broke out, RAF Fighter Command took control over the airfield and a runway of 3,900 ft (1,189 m) was paved to handle the Supermarine Spitfire. During the Battle of Britain, 3, 65, and 141 Squadrons were present at the airbase.

Post World War II

When the war ended the airfield remained under military control, but by the late 1940s the first commercial services were launched. In 1947, British European Airways started a service between Edinburgh and London using Vickers Vikings followed by the Viscount and Vanguard series.

In 1952 the runway was extended to 6000 ft to handle the Vampire FB5s operated by the resident 603 Squadron; and an aircraft carrier Catcher Net (never used) was installed to protect traffic on the adjacent A9 road. In 1956 a new passenger terminal was built to provide an improved commercial service; five years later it was extended. After the disbandment of 603 Squadron in March 1957, the Ministry of Defence transferred ownership to the Ministry of Aviation in 1960 to offer improved commercial service to the airport. Flying was temporarily diverted to East Fortune, which had its runway extended to accommodate the airliners of the period.

BAA ownership 1971 to 2012

Aerial view of Edinburgh Airport
Departure gate area

The British Airports Authority took over ownership of the airport on 1 April 1971 at a time when the original terminal building was running at about eight times its design capacity. Immediate improvements to the terminal were cosmetic, such as extra seating and TV monitors for flight information, and it took two years for plans to be proposed for a completely new terminal and runway redesign. A public consultation on planning started in November 1971 and ended in February 1972. Initial stages of the redevelopment began in June 1973; they included a diversion of the River Almond. Work on the new terminal building, designed by Sir Robert Matthew, started in March 1975, and the building was officially opened by Her Majesty the Queen on 27 May 1977,[5] opening to the public two days later.

Although the original main runway 13/31 (which is now 12/30) served the airport well, its alignment (NW-SE) had the disadvantage of suffering from severe crosswinds, and the other two minor runways were very short and could not be readily extended, so movements were transferred to a new runway (07/25, which has since become 06/24) in an addition completely outside the original airfield boundary. This runway, completed in 1977, is 2,556 m (8,386 ft) in length, and was able to take all modern airliners including Concorde. A new terminal was built alongside the runway to cater for the additional traffic. The old terminal and hangars were converted into a cargo centre.

International service from Edinburgh began in 1962 with a direct service to Dublin, but for many years international flights were charter and private only. This started to change during the late 1970s, with direct services to continental Europe (Amsterdam, 1975). By the mid-1980s direct routes included Paris, Düsseldorf, Brussels, Frankfurt and Copenhagen, but until the Open Skies Act in 1990, all transatlantic flights had to land first at Prestwick, with very few exceptions. By the time BAA had been privatised in 1987, Edinburgh Airport handled over 1.8 million passengers each year; compared to the 681,000 passengers handled in 1971 when BAA first took control of the airport.[6]

RAF Turnhouse was operational near the passenger terminal of the airport for all of the post war period, but was finally closed in 1997.[7]

Since the original terminal upgrade in 1977, there have been major reconstructions, including extensions of the two passenger terminal aprons and a major expansion of car parking facilities, including a multi-storey car park in 2004. In 2005, a new 57-metre-tall (187 ft) air traffic control tower was completed at a cost of £10m. An extension to the terminal called the South East Pier opened in September 2006. This extension initially added six gates on a new pier to the south-east of the original building. A further four gates were added to the South East Pier at the end of 2008.

On 19 October 2011, BAA Limited announced its intention to sell the airport, following a decision by the UK's Competition Commission requiring BAA to sell either Glasgow Airport or Edinburgh Airport.[8] BAA announced on 23 April 2012 that it had sold Edinburgh Airport to Global Infrastructure Partners for a price of £807.2 million.[9]

Expansion

In 2013, a further extension to the passenger terminal was announced, taking the terminal building up to the Edinburgh Airport tram stop. The opening of the Edinburgh Trams in May 2014 created the first rail connection to Edinburgh Airport. Whilst the number of passengers has increased, the number of flights actually decreased in 2014 due to planes operating at higher capacity.[10] Passenger traffic at Edinburgh Airport reached a record level in 2015 with over 11.1 million passengers[11] and over 109,000 aircraft movements.[2] The terminal building is currently being expanded with an investment of £40m. A new £25m expansion project involving the construction of a new 6,000m² building, housing a security hall and retail areas, is also currently under way at the airport. On 23 February 2016, Ryanair announced a growth of 20% in passenger numbers, bringing the airline's annual passenger capacity at Edinburgh Airport to 2.5 million. This was coupled with the news of six new services to Ryanair's winter schedule from Edinburgh, in addition to more services on its popular European destinations. In February 2016, consultancy firm Biggar Economics announced that Edinburgh Airport contributes almost £1 billion to the Scottish economy every year.[12] As part of the expansion works, Runway 12/30 was officially withdrawn from use on 29 March 2018.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Edinburgh:[13]

AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Seasonal: Athens
Aer Lingus Regional Cork, Dublin, Shannon
Air Canada Rouge Seasonal: Toronto–Pearson
Air France Paris–Charles de Gaulle
American Airlines Seasonal: New York–JFK (ends 27 October 2018), Philadelphia (begins 2 April 2019)[14]
Atlantic Airways Seasonal: Vágar
Austrian Airlines Seasonal charter: Innsbruck
BH Air Seasonal charter: Burgas
British Airways London–City, London–Gatwick, London–Heathrow
Seasonal: Florence,[15] Palma de Mallorca
Brussels Airlines Brussels
Delta Air Lines Seasonal: New York–JFK
easyJet Alicante, Amsterdam, Athens, Basel/Mulhouse, Belfast-International, Berlin-Tegel, Bilbao, Bristol, Copenhagen, Geneva, Hamburg, Kraków, Lisbon, London–Gatwick, London–Luton, London–Stansted, Lyon, Madrid, Milan–Malpensa, Munich, Naples, Paphos, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Prague, Reykjavik-Keflavik, Seville, Stuttgart, Tenerife–South, Venice, Vienna
Seasonal: Bodrum, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Grenoble, Heraklion, Jersey, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Sofia
Edelweiss Air Zürich
Emirates Dubai-International[16]
Eurowings Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Munich (ends 29 March 2019)[17]
Finnair Helsinki
Flybe Belfast-City, Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands, Exeter, Knock, London–City, London–Heathrow, Manchester, Southampton
Seasonal: Bergerac, Newquay, Jersey
Hainan Airlines Beijing–Capital, Dublin[18]
Iberia Express Seasonal: Madrid
Israir Airlines Seasonal charter: Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion[19]
Jet2.com Alicante, Budapest, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Málaga, Tenerife South
Seasonal: Almeria, Antalya, Bodrum (begins 7 May 2019),[20] Burgas (begins 11 May 2019),[21] Chambéry, Corfu (begins 9 May 2019),[20] Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Faro, Geneva, Girona, Heraklion, Ibiza, Kefalonia, Kos, Larnaca, Menorca, Murcia (ends 22 October 2018),[22] Naples, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Pula, Reus, Rhodes, Salzburg, Split, Thessaloniki, Turin, Venice, Verona, Vienna (ends 4 January 2019), Zakynthos
KLM Amsterdam
Loganair Isle of Man,[23] Kirkwall, Norwich, Stornoway, Sumburgh, Wick[24]
Seasonal: Bergen[25]
Lufthansa Frankfurt, Munich (begins 1 December 2018)[26][27]
Norwegian Air Shuttle Copenhagen, Newburgh (ends 30 March 2019),[28] Oslo–Gardermoen, Stockholm–Arlanda
Seasonal: Barcelona (ends 27 October 2018),[29] Providence (ends 27 October 2018),[30] Tenerife–South (ends 27 October 2018)[31]
Qatar Airways Doha
Ryanair Alicante, Barcelona, Bergamo, Berlin–Schönefeld (begins 28 October 2018),[32] Bologna, Bratislava, Budapest,[33] Charleroi, Copenhagen, Derry (begins 28 October 2018),[32] Dublin, Eindhoven, Faro, Fuerteventura, Gdańsk, Gran Canaria, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Katowice, Kraków, Lanzarote, Lisbon (begins 29 October 2018),[32] London–Stansted, Málaga, Malta, Marseille, Memmingen (resumes 30 October 2018),[32] Nantes,[33] Porto, Poznań, Prague,[33] Riga (begins 3 November 2018),[32] Rome-Ciampino, Santander, Seville (begins 30 October 2018),[32] Sofia (begins 28 October 2018),[32] Stockholm–Skavsta (begins 29 October 2018),[32] Tallinn (resumes 29 October 2018),[34][32] Tenerife–South, Toulouse,[33] Treviso, Valencia, Warsaw–Modlin, Weeze, Wroclaw
Seasonal: Béziers, Bordeaux, Carcassonne, Corfu, Girona, Hahn, Ibiza, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Kaunas, Palma de Mallorca, Pisa, Szczecin, Vigo
Scandinavian Airlines Stockholm–Arlanda
Seasonal: Copenhagen (ends 21 October 2018),[35] Oslo–Gardermoen
Thomas Cook Airlines Seasonal: Antalya (ends 27 October 2018)[36]
Transavia France Seasonal: Paris–Orly[37]
TUI Airways Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife–South
Seasonal: Corfu, Dalaman, Larnaca, Málaga, Menorca, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Pula, Rhodes[38]
Seasonal charter: Geneva, Innsbruck[39]
Turkish Airlines Istanbul–Atatürk
United Airlines Newark
Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare, Washington–Dulles[40]
Vueling Barcelona
WOW air Seasonal: Reykjavik–Keflavik[41]

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
ASL Airlines Belgium Liège
DHL Aviation East Midlands, Leipzig/Halle
Royal Mail Aberdeen, East Midlands, Inverness, London–Stansted
UPS Airlines Cologne/Bonn, East Midlands

Statistics

Passenger Numbers

Edinburgh Airport Passenger Totals
1985–2017 (millions)
Source: These statistics are combined BAA and CAA figures pre-1996, Edinburgh Airport: A History; McCloskey, Keith. Post 1996: United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority[2]
Number of Passengers[nb 1]Number of Movements[nb 2]
1985 1,578,000 36,926
1986 1,651,000 36,596
1987 1,852,000 39,603
1988 2,080,000 40,664
1989 2,369,000 47,100
1990 2,495,000 47,900
1991 2,343,000 49,700
1992 2,539,000 56,400
1993 2,721,000 58,800
1994 3,001,000 61,100
1995 3,280,000 64,000
1996 3,810,000 68,800
1997 4,214,91999,352
1998 4,588,507100,134
1999 5,119,258101,226
2000 5,519,372102,393
2001 6,067,333112,361
2002 6,930,649118,416
2003 7,481,454118,943
2004 8,017,547125,317
2005 8,456,739127,122
2006 8,611,345126,914
2007 9,047,558128,172
2008 9,006,702125,550
2009 9,049,355115,969
2010 8,596,715108,997
2011 9,385,245113,357
2012 9,195,061110,288
2013 9,775,443111,736
2014 10,160,004109,545
2015 11,114,587115,286
2016 12,348,425122,220
2017 13,410,256128,675

Busiest routes

Busiest routes to and from Edinburgh (2017)[42]
RankAirportPassengers
Handled		% Change
2016/17
1United Kingdom London–Heathrow1,179,758Increase 12.0
2United Kingdom London–Gatwick737,285Increase 5.3
3United Kingdom London–Stansted720,271Decrease 13.9
4Netherlands Amsterdam681,601Increase 4.7
5Republic of Ireland Dublin617,909Increase 3.4
6United Kingdom London–City484,892Decrease 8.1
7United Kingdom Bristol393,853Increase 3.1
8France Paris–Charles de Gaulle357,132Increase 15.7
9United Kingdom London–Luton309,124Increase 13.4
10United Kingdom Belfast–International284,833Increase 3.8
11United Kingdom Birmingham255,142Decrease 4.5
12Spain Tenerife–South253,726Increase 17.1
13Spain Alicante230,503Increase 11.4
14Denmark Copenhagen230,461Decrease 8.1
15United Kingdom Southampton208,105Increase 4.8
16Spain Palma de Mallorca204,232Increase 11.3
17Spain Málaga195,779Increase 7.0
18Switzerland Geneva193,486Increase 25.0
19Germany Frankfurt190,659Decrease 3.3
20Spain Barcelona186,568Increase 3.1

Access and ground transport

Airlink 100 bus on Waverley Bridge
Edinburgh Gateway station interchange stop
Edinburgh Airport tram terminus

Bus

Lothian Buses provides public transportation to the airport and Edinburgh with four bus services:[43]

  • Airlink 100 - Express bus to and from the city centre.
  • Skylink 200 - Local connections between Edinburgh Airport and North Edinburgh.
  • Skylink 300 - Local connections between Edinburgh Airport and Leith.
  • N22 - Night bus service to the city centre and Leith.

First provides public transportation to the airport and West Lothian with one service:[44]

  • 21A - Connections between Edinburgh Airport with the towns of Bathgate, Broxburn, Fauldhouse, Livingston and Whitburn.

Stagecoach provides public transportation to the airport and Fife with one service:[45]

Citylink provides public transportation to the airport and Glasgow city centre with one service:[46]

  • Citylink Air - Express bus to and from Edinburgh Airport with Glasgow city centre.

Road

The airport lies on the A8 road, and can be reached by the M8 motorway and the M9 motorway. The airport is also within access from the M90 motorway via the Queensferry Crossing.

Train

The airport has no dedicated railway station. However, it is served by the nearby Edinburgh Gateway station, which serves as an interchange with Edinburgh Trams services to the airport.[47] The tram line also connects the airport to the nearby Edinburgh Park railway station.[48]

A more expensive Edinburgh Airport Rail Link project to provide a direct heavy rail link was cancelled in 2007 due to increasing costs.[49]

Tram

The airport is served by Edinburgh Trams, a light rail link. The system runs from the airport and travels across the western suburbs of Edinburgh, terminating in the city centre.[50][51]

Preceding station   Edinburgh Trams   Following station
Ingliston Park & Ride   Edinburgh Trams
Line 1		   Terminus

Accidents and incidents

On 27 February 2001, a Loganair Shorts 360 (G-BNMT) operating a Royal Mail flight to Belfast, crashed into the Firth of Forth shortly after taking off from Edinburgh at 1730 GMT. Both crew members were killed, but there were no passengers on board. A fatal accident inquiry later blamed a buildup of slush in the aircraft's engines before the crash. A protective covering had not been fitted to the engine intakes while the aircraft was parked at Edinburgh for several hours in heavy snow.[52][53]

Accolades

Notes

  1. ↑ Number of Passengers, Freight and Mail include both domestic and international counterparts.
  2. ↑ Number of Movements represents total aircraft takeoffs and landings during that year.

References

  1. 1 2 "NATS – AIS – Home". ead-it.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Aircraft and passenger traffic data from UK airports". UK Civil Aviation Authority. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  3. ↑ "Global Infrastructure Partners". global-infra.com.
  4. ↑ "EDI Facts and figures". '"Edinburgh Airport. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "Queen will be first to use air terminal". The Glasgow Herald. 27 May 1977. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  6. ↑ Edinburgh Airport: A History; McCloskey, Keith; 2006
  7. ↑ "Site Record for Edinburgh, RAF Turnhouse". Canmore. RCAHMS. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "Heathrow: About us – Heathrow". baa.com.
  9. ↑ Heathrow. "Press Releases". baa.com.
  10. ↑ ^ CAA: UK Annual Airport Statistics
  11. ↑ "Edinburgh Airport hails record year". BBC News. 11 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "Edinburgh Airport Brings in the Bucks". Airport Parking Market. 26 April 2016.
  13. ↑ edinburghairport.com - Flight Timetable retrieved 23 November 2016
  14. ↑ http://news.aa.com/news/news-details/2018/American-Airlines-Expands-European-Footprint-and-Modifies-Asia-Service/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ↑ Airways, British. "British Airways - MORE FLYING, AIRCRAFT AND JOBS FOR REGIONAL OPERATION". mediacentre.britishairways.com.
  16. ↑ "Emirates plans Edinburgh launch in October 2018". routesonline.com. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  17. ↑ https://www.eurowings.com/en/information/flight-schedule.html
  18. ↑ https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/hainan-airlines-to-begin-dublin-edinburgh-flights-446827/
  19. ↑ "Israir to launch Tel Aviv - Scotland, Norway routes". The Jerusalem Post. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  20. 1 2 "Lucky 7 for Scotland". www.jet2.com.
  21. ↑ http://www.jet2.com/timetable
  22. ↑ "Jet2 to relocate Murcia ops from 1Q19 as San Javier closes". ch-aviation. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  23. ↑ "Isle of Man-Edinburgh flights to resume". 31 March 2017 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  24. ↑ http://www.loganair.co.uk/loganair/press-office/256/scotland%26%23039%3bs-airline-spreads-its-wings Archived 2 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine.
  25. ↑ https://booking.loganair.co.uk/VARS/Public/b/FlightCal.aspx?VarsSessionID=df8e7780-a3b0-4172-a779-4960c94dc8c6#cal-accordion-0-1
  26. ↑ https://www.eturbonews.com/228408/iata-european-air-traffic-control-delays-loom-over-summer-air-travel
  27. ↑ https://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/uk/infoservice/flightinfo/flightplan/application?l=en&cid=1000243
  28. ↑ https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/norwegian-to-scrap-us-budget-flights-from-edinburgh-1-4803827
  29. ↑ https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/norwegian-to-scrap-us-budget-flights-from-edinburgh-1-4803827
  30. ↑ https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/norwegian-to-scrap-us-budget-flights-from-edinburgh-1-4803827
  31. ↑ https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/norwegian-to-scrap-us-budget-flights-from-edinburgh-1-4803827
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Ryanair Announces 11 New W18 Routes From Edinburgh". Ryanair DAC. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  33. 1 2 3 4 "Ryanair W17 new routes as of 05MAR17". Routesonline. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  34. ↑ https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/ryanair-boss-jets-in-to-slash-capital-routes-1-2128176
  35. ↑ http://www.flysas.com
  36. ↑ https://www.thomascookairlines.com/en/book-plan/flight/timetable.jsp
  37. ↑ transavia.com - Edinburgh retrieved 27 June 2018
  38. ↑ "Flight Timetable - TUI Airways". www.tui.co.uk.
  39. ↑ "Ski Holidays 2017/2018 - Get More Winter With Crystal Ski". Crystal Ski.
  40. ↑ "United Airlines Offers Customers More Ways to Get to Europe Next Summer Including New Service to Porto, Portugal and Reykjavik, Iceland". United - Newsroom.
  41. ↑ https://centreforaviation.com/news/wow-air-to-discontinue-service-to-stockholm-edinburgh-and-san-francisco-over-winter-201819-845622
  42. ↑ "Airport Data 2017". UK Civil Aviation Authority. 18 March 2018. Tables 12.1(XLS) and 12.2 (XLS). Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  43. ↑ "Airport Services - Lothian Buses". Lothian Buses.
  44. ↑ "21A - Edinburgh Airport - South East and Central Scotland - First UK Bus". First UK Bus.
  45. ↑ "JET 747 Edinburgh Airport Bus - Stagecoach". www.stagecoachbus.com.
  46. ↑ "Citylink :: Connecting Scotland". www.citylink.co.uk.
  47. ↑ "New Edinburgh Gateway interchange opens in capital". Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  48. ↑ "Trains". Edinburgh Airport. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  49. ↑ "It's £30m down the drain". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 27 September 2007. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  50. ↑ "Edinburgh's trams roll into action". BBC News.
  51. ↑ "Route map". Edinburgh Trams. 2009. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  52. ↑ Scotsman: Pilots praised as sheriff confirms snow caused crash, 13 November 2003
  53. ↑ Harro Ranter (27 February 2001). "ASN Aircraft accident Shorts 360-100 G-BNMT Granton Harbour". aviation-safety.net.
  54. ↑ "ASQ Award for Best Airport in Europe" Airports Council International. 14 February 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012

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