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Edinburgh Airport History |
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Edinburgh Airport was opened by her Majesty the Queen in 1977. Originally the airfield was the site of a First World War aerodrome, later to become RAF Turnhouse. The original facility was sited close to the main East Coast railway line. Aircraft arrived in crates on trains, were assembled and sent into action from the grass strip. Turnhouse Aerodrome was established for the Royal Flying Corps in 1915. For many years it fulfilled a military role before responsibility was handed from the Ministry of Defence to the Ministry of Aviation in 1960. The first shuttle service linking Edinburgh with London took off in 1947. It was operated by British European Airways. Edinburgh Airport was taken over by BAA plc (previously the British Airports Authority) in 1971. 100 MILLION POUNDS EXPANSION OF EDINBURGH AIRPORT. On-going construction work to expand Edinburgh Airport is in constant progress. It is hoped that the scheme will double the present passenger capacity and put Edinburgh into 6th. place behind Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester and Birmingham. The first phase of the work was completed in 1999, it included numerous terminal facilities and expanded the number of parking spaces for aircraft. Currently there are 17 terminal stands for planes and numerous others which require passengers to be 'bussed' to the terminal. A new widebody stand is now in operation after complaints to BAA. Other construction work includes a new immigration hall and a centrally located check-in area. These are now completed. The 'old' terminal received a major upgrading and opened in April 2001. A new Air Traffic control tower is under construction and will provide another landmark later this year. Latest news is that BAA submitted plans for a new ATC and these were rejected by the CAA; it was to be located too close to the runway! International passenger traffic has doubled during the last three years and is expected that this growth will be maintained. In fact Edinburgh Airport is now Scotland's busiest for scheduled International flights. London domestic traffic accounts for 60% of Edinburgh's total traffic figures. This is in its self not surprising considering that Edinburgh is second only to London for the number of visitors that it plays host to every year. There are approximately 128 daily flights between Edinburgh and the five London Airports. Edinburgh Airport is now the UK's 2nd busiest airport for domestic traffic after London. The official growth figures have been consistently underestimated by the BAA, present owners of the airport, who delayed expansion. May I extend the apologies of Edinburgh's citizens for the congestion and inconvenience they may experience during what seems to be never-ending construction work. In 1999 more than five million passengers passed through Edinburgh Airport. The airport currently serves 55 destinations. Eight million passengers are expected by 2009. The advent of the Scottish Parliament is expected to boost passenger figures by 350,000 every year. The airport recently underwent a £100 million investment programme to extend and upgrade terminal facilities. The airport has a modern terminal building, two main runways and a large cargo operation. |
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