Edinburgh and Glasgow airports see passenger numbers fall

Both Edinburgh and Glasgow reported year-on-year falls in passenger traffic

Passenger numbers at Scotland's two biggest airports fell last month, according to figures from operator BAA.

Passenger traffic at Edinburgh fell by 4.4% year-on-year to 557,400, which BAA said was caused by "an expected dip" in the airport's winter schedule.

Glasgow Airport also saw numbers drop by 0.4% to 416,300.

However, BAA-owned Aberdeen Airport recorded a 13.9% increase in passenger figures to 227,600.

BAA's UK airports served a total of 7.5 million passengers in January, an increase of 0.5% on the previous year.

The operator said the fall in numbers at Edinburgh was "partially mitigated" by the addition of several new routes.

Glasgow's fall was blamed on the impact of high winds which caused widespread disruption across Scotland on 3 January.

However, the airports operator said a strong demand for overseas travel boosted international traffic at Glasgow last month.

Glasgow Airport managing director Amanda McMillan said: "International traffic was the main driver of our growth in 2011 and we are pleased to see this trend continue into 2012."