Edinburgh Airport ready for busy Summer - but urge patience

Edinburgh Airport is expecting passenger numbers to treble as it returns to a regular Summer schedule

Author: Lewis MichiePublished 30th Mar 2022
Last updated 30th Mar 2022

Passengers flocking to Edinburgh Airport this Summer are being warned to expect queues and disruption as it prepares to return to full service for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.

The airport is expecting numbers to treble as people head off for holidays.

Having gone through a massive recruitment drive to replenish staffing numbers, and with many travellers returning to the airport for the first time since 2019, they anticipate some teething problems.

Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport, said:

“The return of passengers to Edinburgh Airport is both exciting for the team here but challenging at the same time. During the pandemic, we lost many valued colleagues and our recruitment campaign to employ 1,000 people across the airport has been underway since the end of 2021.

“Not all of those additional people will be in place as quickly as we would like and therefore it is inevitable there will be some queues and disruption as the recovery begins and we take the first steps to normality.

“As we do that, we are grateful to passengers for their patience and understanding and ask that they allow themselves to carefully plan and understand what they need to do before they get here. We all want to put on as good a service as we can and will be working hard to do that, drafting in people from across the airport to support passengers and ensuring people have everything they need to get through the airport quickly and comfortably.”

Adam Wilson, Operations Director at Edinburgh Airport said:

“Operations virtually shut down during the pandemic and although we have been planning for a sudden rise in demand, we cannot deny it will have an impact on our operations as we look to readjust.

“We’ve drawn up a range of plans to deal with potential scenarios but unfortunately this may not avoid queuing at peak times. We clearly hope this won’t be the case, but we think it’s better to be honest and ask passengers to work with us to make the process as smooth as possible."

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