Sitting amid the chaotic buzz of the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, Edinburgh Airport’s chief executive, Gordon Dewar, and his softly-spoken Scottish accent seem out of place. But he’s here with his team for the World Routes event – and has high hopes for its success. “We’re interested in hearing feedback on our growth plans – we’re excited to be here,” he enthuses.
Since Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) took ownership of the airport in summer 2012, Edinburgh is becoming quite the success story. Its traffic figures continue to rise, with the airport seeing two million-passenger months during its record summer. “We had massive growth in the summer,” says Dewar, “and we’re looking at 9.7 million passengers by the end of the year. We have consistent demand year-round. You don’t really find that at other airports.”
According to Dewar, the average passenger makes six trips annually through the airport. Edinburgh is the third largest entry point in the UK for international passengers, behind London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
With a strong network throughout Europe, particularly Germany, the airport is steadily building its reach. Since GIP took over, there have already been major deals announced with low-cost carriers, easyJet and Ryanair. Furthermore, Turkish Airlines has upped its Istanbul service to daily within a year of the route’s launch.
This summer, the airport also welcomed flights to Toronto with Air Canada rouge for the summer season – and Dewar is certain the route’s success will ensure the carrier’s return. For upcoming launches, May 2014 will see United Airlines commence the first service between Edinburgh and Chicago. Dewar explains that Edinburgh is hoping to strengthen its long-haul market, with particular focus on the Middle East and North America.
This month, the airport is embarking on a £25 million project to expand its terminal by 6,000 square metres. The main change will be an extended security area to speed up passenger processing, with additional retail areas and a new airline business centre. The new security area is due to open by late 2014 and the rest of the development aims to be operational the following year.
“We’re utilising the space that we have. We understand the advantages of being a small airport so we want to keep that. We’re a busy airport but it doesn’t feel like it – we still want to feel friendly,” he explains.
As well as expanding the terminal area, Edinburgh will also see the introduction of a second immigration processing area and additional facilities for Code E aircraft – development which should help to entice new customers. Dewar continues: “We have a supportive government in Scotland that we are always working closely with. Transport Scotland is here with us at World Routes to find out how we can take our route development further; we share the same aspirations.”
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