Edinburgh Airport to get 83,000 Christmas arrivals as tourist influx continues

Edinburgh city centre is already busy with shoppers and tourists at this time of year - but it could get even busier just before Christmas.
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Dec 2018, 16:29 BST
Updated 11th Dec 2018, 10:30 BST

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A total of 83,077 passengers are expected to land at the airport within five days of Christmas, about 36,000 more than at Glasgow which will be the second busiest Scottish airport.

However, just over 84,000 passengers will be leaving Edinburgh over the same period between December 21st and 25th.

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The new figures come from a study, commissioned by Buyagift, which used worldwide aviation data to reveal exactly how many people will be flying into Scotland just before Christmas.

Edinburgh Airport will be by far the busiest in Scotland in the run up to Christmas. Pic: Ian GeorgesonEdinburgh Airport will be by far the busiest in Scotland in the run up to Christmas. Pic: Ian Georgeson
Edinburgh Airport will be by far the busiest in Scotland in the run up to Christmas. Pic: Ian Georgeson

Lots of those coming to Edinburgh will be coming home to spend the holidays with their loved ones.

But many will be tourists keen to experience the Hogmanay festivities.

The news comes just days after a visitor to the Edinburgh Christmas Market tweeted about huge queues for the event spilling out onto Waverley Bridge.

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Posting a video of huge queues on Waverley Bridge, Luke Skipper (@LJ_Skipper) wrote: “Insane overcrowding at the Edinburgh Christmas Market. Obvious security risk - with potentially really grim consequences.”

A snapshot of the global flights happening in the run up to Christmas. Pic: BuyagiftA snapshot of the global flights happening in the run up to Christmas. Pic: Buyagift
A snapshot of the global flights happening in the run up to Christmas. Pic: Buyagift
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Massive overcrowding at Edinburgh Christmas Market causes concern

The new study on Christmas flight patterns is based on 3,654 airports around the world and you can watch a five day timelapse video of the global flight patterns here

Dan Mountain, CEO at Buyagift, said they commissioned the research to visualise what the world’s skies would look like in the run-up to Christmas as people travel to be with their loved ones at this time of year.

Results showed that the UK will be the eighth busiest country for Christmas air travel.

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London Heathrow is set to be the busiest UK airport and Edinburgh will be the sixth busiest.

Globally, Edinburgh will be the 213th busiest airport in the world over the five day period.

Beijing International tops the lists with 843,700 people scheduled to fly in.

Dubai, Atlanta, Tokyo and Los Angeles were also among the top 10 busiest.

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Related topics:EdinburghEdinburgh AirportGlasgow