Ryanair announced today Summer 2013 growth in Scotland, with 38 routes (6 new) at Edinburgh and 27 routes (2 new) at Glasgow Prestwick, delivering 400,000 passengers and a combined total of over 3 million passengers at both Edinburgh and Glasgow Prestwick airports, following cuts to its winter 2012 schedule at Edinburgh following the breakdown of cost negotiations with the previous owners of Edinburgh, the BAA, after reaching agreement with Edinburgh Airport’s new owners, Global Infrastructure Partners.
The airline will now operate a total of 38 routes from its Edinburgh Base with six new routes to Bologna, Beziers, Cagliari, Corfu, Katowice & Santander and increased frequency to Alicante, Faro, Malaga, Malta and Palma, operating a total of 236 weekly flights up 5% delivering 1.8 million passengers up 11%
The airline announced four new routes from its Glasgow Prestwick Base to Riga, Rzeszow & Warsaw Modlin and Wrcolaw and increased frequency to Ibiza and Palma operating a total of 27 routes on 95 weekly flights up 10% , increasing passenger numbers by 6% to 1.4 million passengers.
Ryanair Michael O’Leary said “Ryanair is delighted to announce its Scottish summer 2013 schedule, which will deliver over 3m passengers p.a. and sustain over 3,000 jobs at Edinburgh and Glasgow Prestwick Airports, following successful negotiations with Edinburgh Airport’s new owners, Global Infrastructure Partners, this is a prime example of what can be achieved by dismantling the BAA monopoly and we look forward to further growth at Edinburgh Airport under its new ownership”.
Edinburgh Airport CEO Gordon Dewar said “I welcome Ryanair’s return to growth and investment at Edinburgh Airport. When I came to Edinburgh Airport in the summer, it was clear that we had to repair the relationship with Ryanair and work with them to provide more choice for Scottish passengers. I’m pleased that today we can announce a new relationship and new routes. This announcement underlines the fact that Edinburgh and Scotland is an attractive market for a variety of operators and that we as an airport are open and willing to do business to expand our network and encourage growth.”
Glasgow Prestwick CEO Iain Cochrane said “We’re delighted with Ryanair’s latest commitment to grow its business from Glasgow Prestwick which is another sign of its continuing confidence in our airport. The decision to increase its Prestwick operations for next summer, along with new routes to Rzeszow and Warsaw is great news both for the airport and the region too. It gives travellers an even greater choice of value-for-money destinations next year and a further boost for the local economy, with more visitors to Scotland coming through the airport gateway.
Irish Aviation Research Institute © 4th December 2012 All Rights Reserved.
