City airport passengers on rise

THE number of passengers using Edinburgh Airport increased last month, new figures show.

Airport owner BAA said there was a 7.2 per cent rise in passengers in March compared with the same month last year.

Heathrow and BAA's two other Scottish airports, Aberdeen and Glasgow, also showed marked improvements from March 2010 when passenger numbers were hit by British Airways' strike action.

Comparisons between April 2010 and April 2011 may also prove difficult as the entire Easter getaway will fall within this April, while last April saw the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud crisis which led to many flight cancellations.

BAA chief executive Colin Matthews said: "The growth in traffic at our Scottish airports is encouraging."