Growth in direct flights to Scotland

The rate of expansion of Scotland’s airports in recent years has been nothing short of remarkable. There has never been an easier time to fly into the country and the opportunity to bypass London hubs via an increasing number of direct routes is driving visitor numbers ever higher.

To many international conference goers, perhaps put off by the notion of connecting flights in the past, the convenience and ease with which they can now reach the country is fuelling a rise in passenger numbers, according to one Edinburgh-based travel management firm.

Wayne Russell, a former British Airways manager, Sales Director at Traveleads, which works with conferences and meetings planners, explains: “I guess there’s two ways of looking at it on the business travel and leisure, inbound and outbound.

“On both fronts I think Scotland is seeing growth, and quite significant growth. On a personal level I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people travelling into our cities than I do now, especially during the winter season.

“I speak to hoteliers all the time and they’re saying occupancy is up. They used to have their downtimes in November, January and February. They’re not seeing it anymore, at least not as much as they used to. Rates are still way up in the 80s and 90s [in percent terms] when it used to be quiet.”

Official figures support that view. Last year alone the Edinburgh and Glasgow both found themselves in the top 10 UK airports, positioned at number six and eight, handling 11m and 8.7m passengers respectively. The growth rates, of 9.4% and 12.9%, were also, with the exception of London Stansted and London Luton, the two biggest climbers in that decile, according to figures published by the Civil Aviation Authority.

Regionally, too, Scotland is punching well above its weight. Aberdeen and Inverness have also posted strong growth, and even smaller airports like Dundee are adding routes to its destination list (the city is home to the third largest regeneration project in the UK, with its £1bn waterfront redevelopment, including a new V&A Museum of Design).

Russell believes the investment in facilities, capacity and new routes – combined with the work of VisitScotland and regional marketing bureaux – is helping drive the demand.

Edinburgh has committed to £150m in capital investment over five years, Inverness is spending £900,000 to expand and upgrade its building and Aberdeen, which will welcome a brand new 12,500-capacity convention centre in 2019, has pledged £20m over three years, doubling the size of its terminal.

“It’s great, and because of that, we’re seeing more airlines being attracted to Scotland,” he adds.

“There’s been about half a dozen airlines that have come on board this year. There are three airlines doing flights directly into New York now, which 10 years would have seemed impossible.

“We have Qatar and Etihad covering the Middle East, which is fantastic for Asia and one of the strongest growth areas we’re seeing is with the Chinese market; it’s becoming extremely popular with Chinese visitors increasingly coming here, and also with us going out to China to sell Scotland as a whole. I think that’s probably the next big thing that we’ll see and I think over the next year or two there’s a very, very good chance that we could see flights coming in directly from China. That will be a massive boost to the economy.”

Scotland has a growing number of air links to a number of European hubs including London Heathrow, Amsterdam Schipol, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Reykjavik and Frankfurt am Maine. These hubs also link to most cities in the USA and Canada.

All that makes onward travel to Scotland from Central and South America, Asia, Africa and Australasia easier than before. There is also a direct flight route between Glasgow and the key Middle Eastern hub of Dubai, which supports established links with numerous countries across Africa and Asia.

In terms of destinations, routes and passenger numbers, Edinburgh airport has expanded at a quicker pace during the past three years than in the previous decade.

Glasgow and Inverness airports report similar increases, led by international travellers in particular.

With passenger numbers soaring into the country, airlines have been quick to develop new Scottish routes throughout 2016 and into next year.

Key recent developments include: Qatar Airways now flies direct between Edinburgh and Doha five times per week, fully opening Scotland up to Asia, Australia and China. The Middle Eastern carries Scotland’s first scheduled 787 Dreamliner and offers connectivity to over 120 worldwide destinations

Two weeks after Delta Air Lines started its service between Edinburgh and New York-JFK, the U.S. airline announced that it will double its Scottish network in summer 2017 when it begins flying between Glasgow and New York, linking Scotland to choice of 60 same-day destinations throughout the United States.

Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has launched a new daily service between Edinburgh and Abu Dhabi.

Air Canada Rouge has added a non-stop seasonal service, operating three-times a week, offering passengers the only non-stop service by a network carrier between Toronto and Glasgow and complementing Air Canada Rouge’s existing non-stop service to Edinburgh.

Air France has expanded its short-haul network with daily flights to (and from) Glasgow, marking Air France’s 3rd Scottish destination. The daily flight will connect Glasgow to Air France’s Charles de Gaulle hub in Paris. Passengers will be able to experience seamless connections between over 130 worldwide destinations via Paris Charles De Gaulle.