Aberdeen airport slump persists as Glasgow continues ascent

Glasgow Airport has reported its busiest April on record while Aberdeen’s dramatic passenger decline has continued, according to latest figures.

Glasgow was boosted by strong European traffic, but the oil and gas sector downturn saw Aberdeen post another sharp year-on-year fall as passenger numbers fell by 15.6 per cent on the same month of last year to a total in April of 254,205.

Domestic passenger numbers for last month were down by 17.9 per cent year-on-year in at 143,217, while International passenger numbers were 5.8 per cent lower than a year earlier at 75,077.

In addition to this fixed-wing aircraft traffic, helicopter passenger numbers in April were down by 23.8 per cent on the same month of last year – at 35,911.

Aberdeen airport’s passenger numbers totalled 8.71 million in 2015, up by 13 per cent on the previous year.

Carol Benzie, managing director of Aberdeen International Airport, said: “April’s figures have shown once again that the downturn in the economy has had a significant impact on our passenger figures.

“However, this has not deterred us from working hard to deliver new routes and to committing significant investment.”

However, passenger numbers at Glasgow Airport totalled 721,387 in April, up by 8.5 per cent on the same month last year, with growth in international traffic particularly strong on the back of strengthening its European connectivity.

The hub highlighted the fact that demand last month for scheduled flights serving European Union destinations was up by 21 per cent on April 2015.

The airport noted that it had, over the past 18 months, added services to major European cities including Prague, Budapest, Milan and Bucharest.

International passenger numbers at Glasgow Airport in April totalled 361,325, up 11.6 per cent on the same month of 2015, with Air France, Germanwings, Blue Air and Jet2 enjoying strong demand.

Glasgow Airport reported a 5.6 per cent year-on-year rise in domestic passenger numbers to 360,062 last month. It said that British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair had all reported a rise in demand for their London services.

Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said the April figures ensured Glasgow Airport remained on course to achieve annual passenger numbers of more than nine million for the first time in 2016 – its 50th anniversary year.

Edinburgh Airport also another solid year-on-year rise in passenger numbers in April, boosted by international traffic as domestic business showed a dip, its latest monthly figures revealed on Monday.

The airport sawpassenger numbers had totalled 1,009,529 last month, up by 8.7 per cent on April 2015.