With two consecutive ‘million months’ in July and August, over four million passengers travelled through Edinburgh Airport between June and September – meaning summer 2014 was its busiest on record.

Tourism is vitally important to our economy and this year Scotland has stood centre stage on a global level with the Commonwealth Games, Ryder Cup, Edinburgh Festival and the Independence Referendum.

During the Ryder Cup week in September, over 260,000 people, roughly four full Murrayfield stadiums, travelled through Edinburgh Airport and all transatlantic services and connections reported full or exceptionally high load factors.

Edinburgh Airport reached a number of important milestones this year, most notably exceeding the 10 million passenger mark between June 2013 and 2014 and the launch of its new terminal extension which houses a new state-of-the-art security hall.  The airport is now moving towards securing 10 million passengers in a calendar year for 2014.

A significant amount of investment has gone into improving airport facilities in 2014.  The new £25m terminal extension, the first part of a wider £150m airport-wide improvement project, has allowed for physical expansion in order to accommodate the significant passenger growth which is expected to continue.  A number of new shops and services are also part of the new extension, offering passengers even more choice.

The unprecedented development this year in long-haul services to the USA, Canada and the Middle East has driven the airport’s growth and enabled more passengers than ever before to travel to Scotland.

The Scottish economy is expected to receive a substantial boost from further airline growth in 2015 when Etihad Airways launches from Edinburgh in June.  The Middle Eastern carrier will begin its first service from Scotland with non-stop daily flights to Abu Dhabi.  In addition to a direct connection between Edinburgh and this new Middle Eastern hub, the forthcoming service will allow passengers and cargo from Scotland to connect to destinations across the Gulf, Asia, Australia and Africa.

As Scotland’s busiest airport, we understand the leadership role we play in promoting Scotland around the world and maximising the opportunities for our people to travel and do business.

Edinburgh Airport continues to play its part by providing choice and flexibility to business travellers and industry north of the border with more than 50 flights to London per day, including new services to London City and Stansted airports.

Scotland’s route network will always reflect demand for the routes served, but airport operators have an important role to play in promoting airports, cities and the country as a whole.

Autumn is now gradually changing into winter and this means plans are now being made for Christmas 2014.  A new partnership between the airport and Edinburgh’s Christmas will continue to support the City’s festive campaigns and build upon the success of the summer festivals.

Partnerships like these continue to help build valuable relationships and safeguard the continued development of our city as a leading European capital.