Scottish airports boosted by international traffic

A sharp rise in international passenger numbers helped Scotland's busiest airports achieve record traffic figures for the month of May.

Edinburgh said 1,231,712 passengers passed through the airport last month - a 10.8% year-on-year increase.

International traffic was up by 15.6% at just over 766,000.

Glasgow recorded a 16.5% increase in international passengers, with overall traffic climbing by 10% to more than 910,000.

The airport said there had been strong demand for European city destinations, including Eurowings' Dusseldorf route and Ryanair services to Brussels, Sofia and Valencia.

May also saw the airport's long-haul services climb by 15% as a result of greater demand for North American flights, while Easyjet's Bristol services and Loganair's Highlands and Islands routes helped boost domestic travel.

'Gearing up'

Glasgow Airport managing director Amanda McMillan said: "As we look ahead this month, the airport is gearing up for what is set to be our busiest June on record as the school term comes to an end and tens of thousands of families pass through our doors to head off on their holidays."

Meanwhile, Aberdeen International Airport said both domestic and international passenger numbers continued to increase last month, with 274,263 people travelling through the facility.

Domestic and international traffic was up 4.2% and 1.4%, respectively.

The airport attributed the increases in part to the introduction of new routes, including Ryanair's direct flights to Faro, Malaga and Alicante as well as Flybe's new Heathrow service.

Helicopter traffic was down by 8.4%.