New passenger bridge installed at Edinburgh Airport in £20 million development project

The new East Terminus will hold taxi drop-off and pick-up areas.

A new passenger bridge has been lifted into place at Edinburgh Airport as part of a £20 million investment to improve transport access.

The bridge will connect the rest of the airport to the £5 million new East Terminus, next to the current tram stop, which will house the airport’s taxi drop-off and pick-up area.

The East Terminus is due to be finished by May.

The new bridge at Edinburgh Airport. Picture: Edinburgh Airport.

Work on the project means that part of the plaza, home to the airport’s ‘EDINBURGH’ sign, is currently fenced off.

Taxis will be moved to this new area from their current location on the ground floor of the multi-storey car park.

The East Terminus will also include covered passenger walkways and a self-service kiosk for booking taxis.

There will also be a waiting area for passengers with reduced mobility.

The bridge was lifted into place last weekend. Picture: Edinburgh Airport.

It will have a horseshoe design, where vehicles dropping off customers must rejoin the back of the queue for pick-ups.

Taxis will access the new terminus via the road over the old runway, which the airport hopes will cut down on congestion on Eastfield Road at peak times.

The second phase of the project will create a new access road to further reduce congestion on Eastfield Road, and will move the entire drop-off area for all vehicles to the new terminus.

The airport is also currently developing a new baggage handling system, with work set to finish in March and the system due to be fully in place in 2021.

The bridge is part of a 20 million investment project. Picture: Edinburgh Airport.

The new layout will replace traditional check-in desks with a new bag collector, and add a further 220 metres sq of baggage capacity.

Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport said: “As an airport, we provide quick and easy travel to destinations all over the world – that trip starts and ends here, so making it easier for people to get to and from the airport is important to us.

“As well as making it easier for licensed taxis to drop off and pick up passengers, this multi-million pound project will also see the construction of a new access road, helping to ease the congestion we currently see on Eastfield Road at peak times.

“By investing in our infrastructure, we’ll be able to deliver better access for public transport and increase those travel options for passengers, directly improving their journey.”

The airport announced last year that an additional 5,000 parking spaces would be added to the car park by 2021.