New terminal to be built at Edinburgh Airport - Edinburgh Airport News

Airport news for Edinburgh on 12/02/2009.

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According to the airport’s operator BAA, the plan calls for a new terminal building with a purpose-built area for passenger security screening, as well as restaurants, bars and shops. It will also increase the airport’s passenger-handling capacity to 13 million passengers each year.

The project, which is the first phase of a £100 million investment scheme, will take two years to complete. Overall, the development programme will run for five years, with all costs borne by BAA.

Over the last decade, Edinburgh Airport has seen passenger traffic double, from 4.5 million passengers in 1998 to nearly nine million last year, making it Scotland’s busiest airport.

Growth has tapered off recently due to the impact of the economic downturn, but Gordon Dewar, the managing director of the airport stresses that planning for the future is important in order to keep Edinburgh competitive with the "biggest and best" airports in Europe.

Dewar commented: "This BAA investment is a significant vote of confidence in Edinburgh Airport. It will help stimulate the local economy and create or support hundreds of jobs at what is obviously a difficult time for the airline industry and for the wider economy.”

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