 Passenger numbers rose significantly in 2006 |
Scotland's airports enjoyed a surge in international traffic last year, with Aberdeen being BAA's fastest-growing facility north of the border. The numbers on international flights grew to nearly eight million, with a total of 20.6 million passengers using Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
The rise is attributed to the success of new European and long-haul services.
Overall Aberdeen handled almost 3.2m passengers last year, a rise of 10.9% on 2005.
More than 30 new European and long-haul services were introduced in 2006, and international traffic grew by 8.8% compared to the previous year.
 |  Our route development fund has brought Scotland closer to the rest of the world |
Edinburgh Airport handled 8.6 million passengers, a rise of 1.9% on 2005. It was Scotland's busiest airport in December, handling 600,514 passengers.
Glasgow Airport had a rapid increase in international traffic in December, with passenger numbers up 12.2%.
In total the airport handled 548,893 passengers in December, a 2.3% rise on the December 2005 figure. Overall Glasgow handled 8.83 million passengers.
Aberdeen had 250,771 passengers in December, up 9.5% on 2005.
'Tremendous opportunity'
Stephen Baxter, of BAA Scotland, said: "By any standards, 2006 was a good year for Scotland's busiest airports, with record passenger numbers, massive ongoing investment in new facilities and a raft of new international routes.
"Our route development fund has brought Scotland closer to the rest of the world, benefiting Scotland's business and tourism sectors and offering passengers a wider choice of international destinations than ever before.
"The growth of international traffic in 2006 suggests that passengers prefer to fly direct from their local airport, when given the choice. In the long-term, that has benefits too for the environment."
Kevin Brown, customer services director at Aberdeen Airport, said: "December was a significant month for Aberdeen Airport, not simply because we ended the year as BAA's fastest-growing airport.
"More significant was the decision by Aberdeen City Council to allow us to proceed with our planned 300m runway extension.
"This decision presents us with a tremendous opportunity to transform Aberdeen into a major international gateway."
Passenger figures at Scotland's busiest airports were also boosted by sports fans travelling to international fixtures, statistics showed at the end of the year.
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