JANUARY PASSENGER NUMBERS GET OFF TO A FLYING START AT GLASGOW AIRPORT

Glasgow Airport is celebrating a record start to the year after welcoming 597,594 passengers through its doors in January, representing an annual increase of 8.4%.

International traffic grew by 16.1% due to strong demand on routes to Toronto, New York and Dubai, while EU-scheduled traffic was up 21.4% thanks to an increase in capacity on Ryanair and Jet2 winter sun services to the Canary Islands and city breaks to Paris, Reykjavik and Dusseldorf.

Domestic traffic grew by 2% compared to the same period last year thanks to increased uptake on routes provided by British Airways, easyJet and Flybe.

Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: “Last year was our busiest on record, so it’s pleasing to see this momentum has continued into 2017 with our best-ever January passenger numbers.

“January is traditionally a quieter period but we have experienced a marked increase in demand for international travel, particularly to some of the European city and winter sun destinations.

“Our focus for 2017 will remain on strengthening Scotland's connectivity, however, this year will not be without its challenges and we can’t take our continued growth for granted.

“High levels of Air Passenger Duty put our airports at a severe disadvantage when it comes to attracting new routes and services. The Scottish Government’s proposed 50% reduction presents a real opportunity to address this and ensure Scotland’s airports remain competitive in the global market.”

This year Glasgow Airport will serve more destinations than at any other time in its history. March will see the launch of two new routes to Lisbon and Valencia, while Delta will introduce a new direct service to New York’s JFK airport in May. Further new routes to Bergen in Norway and the Croatian city of Zadar will also start this summer.