Edinburgh passenger numbers continue to grow thanks to rugby fans

15/03/2008

Edinburgh Airport maintained its status as Scotland's busiest airport thanks to the recent Six Nations match, with saw an influx of French rugby fans passing through the airport.

According to the Edinburgh Evening News, passenger numbers rose to 637,646 as a result of the match, representing an 8.4 per cent increase on the figure for February 2007.

It was also revealed that in the 12 months to February, 9.1 million passengers passed through the airport.

David Johnston, managing director of Edinburgh Airport, commented: "Major sporting events such as the Six Nations tend to attract large numbers of travelling supporters, bringing a real tourism boost to Edinburgh and the surrounding regions.

"We now have 11 scheduled routes between Edinburgh and France, and fans certainly made the most of these direct links last month.

"There is strong passenger demand for our direct European and transatlantic routes and we expect this to continue with 27 new services starting this year."