Meet The Winners: Edinburgh Airport

During Routes Europe 2025, Edinburgh Airport discussed its recent growth, new developments and what it meant to be named Overall Winner at the Routes Awards.

Edinburgh Airport (EDI), Scotland’s busiest airport, reached a record 15.8 million passengers in 2024, marking a 10% year-on-year increase and setting a new milestone for any Scottish airport.

Traffic has grown notably in recent years, particularly across long-haul routes, which is up 50% compared to 2019. Strong partnerships with transatlantic airlines and high demand have led to multiple new services and increased capacity planned for summer 2025.

JetBlue launched daily seasonal service to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport in May 2024 and will add Boston Logan International Airport service in May 2025. American Airlines will also start nonstop service from Philadelphia to Edinburgh in May.

Elsewhere, Emirates resumed daily service to Dubai in November 2024, further strengthening EDI’s Middle East connections. Jonny Macneal, head of aviation at EDI, told Routes that the Middle East and Asia are key markets for sustained growth. “We see a lot of indirect traffic to markets such as Saudi Arabia, India and China,” he said.

“For us it’s where the focus is, looking at the developments in those markets and see if we can position ourselves to attract that growth to Edinburgh.”

EDI attributes its success to investment in its team and strategic use of data to launch and optimize routes. The airport’s efforts were recognized when it was named both the 5-20 Million Passengers category winner and Overall Winner at the Routes Europe 2025 Awards.

“The team are absolutely delighted,” Macneal said. “It’s recognition of their work, the relationships they’ve built with the airlines, the business cases they produce and the whole effort not just from our team but our colleagues back in Edinburgh.”