Wednesday May 27th 2026
Edinburgh Airport
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
New UK Civil Aviation Authority data released today shows that record numbers of passengers travelled through Scottish airports in the first three months of this year, breaking previous records for travel between January and March.
Edinburgh had one of the highest passenger growth figures in the UK, with over 3.3 million passengers travelling through the airport, up 7% from last year.
Growth was also seen at Glasgow Airport (+4%) and Inverness Airport (+7%), demonstrating sustained demand across Scotland’s key hubs.
Meanwhile, Glasgow Prestwick Airport had the largest increase in cargo tonnage in the UK, expanding its freight operations by 492% to ship an extra 12,000 tons compared to Q1 2025.
Andrew McConnell, spokesperson for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: “Scotland’s airports are seeing record demand, with more passengers choosing European destinations and growth building as we head into the summer.
“Even in a more challenging climate for aviation, services are continuing to operate reliably and passengers are travelling in strong numbers.”
Other findings from the quarterly data included:
– Over 61 million passengers travelled through UK airports in the first three months of this year, breaking previous records for travel between January and March.
– Some of the airports with the largest proportional growth in passenger numbers included Southend (+247%), Cardiff (+24%), Bournemouth (+14%) and Newcastle (+9%).
– Holidaymakers are heading for sunnier European destinations, with the number of passengers travelling to Madrid and Las Palmas increasing by 14% and 11% respectively.
– The most popular destinations in Q1 2026 were Dublin, Amsterdam, Geneva, Tenerife and Dubai.
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