Edinburgh Airport sees busiest June on record
Edinburgh Airport started the summer of 2019 brightly by recording its busiest ever June for passenger numbers.
Figures show 1,413,612 passengers travelled through the airport last month - up 1.3% on the same month last year.
Popular destinations included various US locations such as Chicago, New York, Boston, Washington DC and Toronto in Canada.
European city breaks also gained favour with passengers opting to head to Rome, Madrid, Porto, Reykjavik, Helsinki, Budapest and Prague.
Two new services began in June as well with flights from Edinburgh to Milan in Italy - both Linate and Malpensa airports - and Aalborg in Denmark.
Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, said: "The summer months are always our busiest as families head off on holiday and people have that long-waited break in the sun.
"Yet again we've experienced a record month which signals a strong start to the summer season.
"Our continued efforts to deliver greater route choice and capacity are delivering positive results, and increasing Scotland's connectivity to the world is something we're always working on.
"Our domestic market is quite mature and although we've seen some changes to the frequency of flights to Stansted, it's been encouraging to see strong performances in other routes such as Loganair to Islay and Guernsey, Flybe to Heathrow and Ryanair to Derry.''
Scottish Green MSP Andy Wightman said: "These figures show just how irresponsible a cut in air departure tax would have been. It could have seen air travel rise even further, with all the negative climate impact that would have had.
"Rising passenger numbers isn't just people going on their once-a-year holiday. There are many business and unnecessary internal flights which simply aren't compatible with a climate emergency.
"Only two weeks ago Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said he supported further growth in our airports. Meanwhile SNP politicians are calling for new flights from Dundee to London.
"It's time for the Scottish Government to recognise that addressing the climate emergency needs clarity of ambition and purpose, not an obsession with growth.
"We need to make alternatives to flying the easiest choice."