Chapter 8 Air Transport

Chapter 8 Air Transport

1. Introduction

1.1 This chapter provides information on air transport, such as passenger numbers by origin, destination, and type of service, flight punctuality, amount of freight carried, air transport movements, and income and expenditure figures of airline authorities.

Key Points

  • There were 22.2 million air passengers at Scottish airports in 2012
  • Three quarters travel to or from Edinburgh or Glasgow.
  • 52 thousand tonnes of freight are carried by air each year.

2. Main Points

Passengers & Airports

2.1 There were 22.2 million air terminal passengers in 2012, 0.1 million (0.6%) more than in the previous year. Passenger numbers increased by 39% between 2001 and 2007 reaching a peak of 25,132 before falling 17% to 20,907 in 2010 since when, they have risen 6 per cent. (Table 8.1)

2.2 Edinburgh airport had 9.2 million terminal passengers in 2012 (2% decrease) and Glasgow airport had 7.2 million, 4% more than the previous year. Aberdeen had 3.3 million, (up 8%) and Glasgow Prestwick had 1.1 million (18% less). Together these four airports accounted for 93% of the total. Over the past ten years, trends for these airports were similar to the national picture except for Edinburgh which saw a levelling off in numbers after 2007 rather than a fall. (Table 8.1)

2.3 In 2012, London Heathrow accounted for 35% of passengers on selected domestic routes to and from Aberdeen, 28% for Edinburgh and 23% for Glasgow. There are no longer any flights between Glasgow Prestwick and Stansted. Therefore, the only domestic flights from Glasgow Prestwick go to the City of Derry. London Gatwick had 41% of the domestic passengers to/from Inverness. Other domestic routes with large passenger numbers included those between Edinburgh and Gatwick, Stansted, Belfast and London City, and between Glasgow and Gatwick, Stansted, Belfast and Luton. (Table 8.2)

Origin/destinations

2.4 The most popular country of origin/destination for passengers flying directly to and from Scottish airports was Spain (excluding the Canary Islands) with 1.7 million passenger journeys in 2012, 17% of all passengers on direct flights abroad. Other popular origins/destinations were the Netherlands (1.2 million passengers) and the Irish Republic and France (around 0.8 million passengers). The trends for many destinations are increasing numbers of passengers, either as a result of more people travelling or more routes becoming available. (Table 8.3a and Table 8.3b)

2.5 Some countries e.g. Turkey and Greece are mostly served by charter flights (80% and 68%), whereas almost all those who travelled to/from the Irish Republic or the Netherlands used scheduled flights. (Table 8.4)

2.6 The most popular international airports (those with the largest numbers of passenger journeys for flights directly to and from Scotland's main airports in 2012) were Amsterdam with 1.2 million passengers and Dublin with 0.7 million passengers. (Table 8.5)

2.7 In 2012, 6% of all terminal passenger traffic was within Scotland, 45% was to/from other parts of the UK, and 38% was between Scotland and mainland Europe. (Table 8.6)

Delays & Movements

2.8 In 2012, the overall average delay was 9 minutes for flights to or from Edinburgh and 11 minutes from Glasgow airports. (Section 3.6 describes the basis for these figures.) Around 8% of flights to or from Edinburgh and 10% from Glasgow airports were delayed by more than 30 minutes. (Table 8.8)

2.9 The total number of aircraft movements in 2012 was 478,300. Aberdeen had the highest number of aircraft movements with 115,000, (95% of which were commercial movements), followed by Edinburgh (110,000) and Glasgow (80,000). (Table 8.9)

Air freight

2.10 Air freight carried in 2012 increased by 7,038 tonnes (16%) over the previous year to 52,200 tonnes. This increase is mostly a result of freight at Glasgow airport almost quadrupling from 2,430 tonnes to 9,497 tonnes and is predominantly due to Emirates increasing their summer service to Dubai to twice daily from 1st June 2012. (Table 8.13)

Other statistics

2.11 The Civil Aviation Authority's 2009 passenger survey found large differences between the 5 main airports. Business passengers ranged from 8% at Glasgow Prestwick to 54% at Aberdeen. Nine out of ten passengers at Inverness were UK residents, compared with just under two-thirds at Glasgow Prestwick. (Table 8.14)

2.12 While around 41-56% of departing passengers at each airport arrived by private car, there were marked differences in the use of other modes of transport: taxi/minicab use ranged from 9% at Glasgow Prestwick to 36% at Aberdeen; bus/coach travellers varied from 5% at Aberdeen to 28% at Edinburgh; hire car users from 4% at Aberdeen to 18% at Inverness; and rail's share was 30% at Glasgow Prestwick. (Table 8.15)

3. Notes and Definitions

3.1 Aircraft Movement: an aircraft take-off or landing at an airport: one arrival and one departure are counted as two movements. Air transport movements are landings or take-offs of aircraft engaged in the transport of passengers or cargo on commercial terms. All scheduled service movements, whether loaded, empty or positioning; and charter movements transporting passengers or cargo and air taxi movements are included.

3.2 Types of passenger: a terminal passenger is one who joins or leaves an aircraft at the reporting airport, excluding passengers carried on air taxi charter services. A passenger travelling between two reporting airports is counted twice, once at each airport. There are two types of terminal passenger: terminating passengers, who arrive or depart at the airport by a surface means of transport; and transfer passengers, who change aircraft at the airport. A transit passenger is one who arrives at and departs from a reporting airport on the same aircraft which is transiting the airport. Each transit passenger is counted once only.

3.3 Freight: the weight of property carried out on an aircraft including, for example the weight of vehicles, excess baggage, and diplomatic bags, but excluding mail and passengers' and crews' permitted luggage. Freight carried on air taxi services and in transit through the airport on the same aircraft is excluded.

3.4 International Services: Services to and from Scotland from places outside the UK, Isle of Man and Channel Islands.

3.5 International and Domestic Destinations: the figures in Tables 8.2 to 8.7 are based on the origin and destination of passengers as reported to UK airport authorities by the airport handling agent. Operators are required to report in respect of each service operated, the point of uplift and discharge of each passenger. The figures may not reflect a passenger's entire air journey: the point at which a passenger disembarks from a particular service may not represent his ultimate destination. In some cases the actual point of uplift or discharge is not recorded. In such cases all passengers are allocated to the end point of the service, i.e. the aircraft's origin or ultimate destination. The figures include all passengers carried on scheduled and chartered services excluding those charter passengers carried on air taxi service and passengers carried on aircraft chartered by Government Departments. In Tables 8.3 and 8.4, international traffic figures are given for each country for which scheduled traffic was reported until and including 2004 data. In cases where charter only routes carried less than 5,000 passengers, the countries concerned may not appear separately in Table 8.3, and may be shown under Other international traffic … in Table 8.4. All non- air taxi is recorded individually.

3.6 Air punctuality statistics

3.6.1 These statistics cover both arrivals and departures. They relate solely to punctuality at the specified airport. For example, the information which is used about flights from Edinburgh relates only to the punctuality of their departure, so the statistics take no account of any subsequent delays before landing at, say, London. Similarly, the information which is used about arrivals at Edinburgh relates only to the time of arrival (no allowance is made for whether or not the flight departed on time from the airport of origin).

3.6.2 The calculations cover those flights for which information about the planned and the actual times of operation has been matched - for example, cancelled flights, and flights which are diverted to or from another airport, are excluded (the numbers of such flights are included in the figures which are given for unmatched flights).

3.6.3 The percentages early to 15 minutes late would probably be lower, and the average delays would probably be higher, if these statistics were calculated in the same way as the rail punctuality statistics (the latter are based on the time of arrival at the destination, and take account of cancellations).

3.6.4 All cargo and air taxi services are excluded.

3.6.5 Unmatched actual flights are air transport movements which actually took place at the airport, but for which no corresponding planned flight was found. There may be a number of reasons for this, such as:

  • the flight was a diversion from another airport;
  • the flight was a short-haul flight more than one hour before the planned time;
  • the flight was planned to take place in the previous month;
  • errors in, or omissions from, the records of Airport Coordination Ltd (ACL) or the airport.

3.6.6 Unmatched planned flights are those which were reported in data supplied by ACL, but for which no corresponding air transport movement return has been found. There may be a number of reasons for this, such as:

  • the flight was diverted to another airport;
  • the flight was cancelled;
  • the planned time was for a short-haul flight more than one hour after the flight;
  • the flight took place in the following month;
  • errors in, or omissions from, the records of ACL or the airport.

3.6.7 Average delays: the averages relate to all flights - not just to the ones which were delayed. With effect from January 2000, flights which are early are counted as zero delay; prior to that they were counted as a negative delay. As a result, the average delays for 2000 onwards are not directly comparable with the figures for 1999 and earlier years. This accounts for the whole of the apparent increase in the averages for Glasgow for 2000: when the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) recalculated the averages for 1999 on the current basis, it found that they would be two minutes more than when calculated on the original basis. A similar recalculation using the data for Edinburgh for 1999 suggested that the change had no effect on its averages, when these were rounded to the nearest whole minute.

3.6.8 Taxi-ing time: the CAA changed its assumption for the taxi-ing time for Edinburgh airport departures from 5 minutes to 10 minutes with effect from the start of 2001. As a result, the punctuality and average delay figures for Edinburgh for 2001 onwards are not on the same basis as the figures for 2000 and earlier years. However, when the CAA recalculated the figures for Edinburgh for 2000 on the current basis, it appeared that this change did not affect on the averages or the percentage early or within 15 minutes, when these were rounded to the nearest whole number.

3.7 Route Development Fund

3.7.1 The Route Development Fund (RDF) formally ended on 31 May 2007 and has not been replaced. It has not proved possible to introduce a replacement route development scheme within the constraints imposed by the European Commission. However, the Scottish Government continues to work with airlines and airport operators on the development of new international air routes which improve business connectivity, encourage inward investment and make Scotland more accessible for inbound tourism. As Table 8.16 that was included in previous publications can no longer be updated it has been removed. Versions of the table and information about the RDF can be found in previous editions including STS 2011.

3.8 Survey of passenger characteristics

3.8.1 International and domestic passengers: a passenger is classified as domestic if his/her flight is between two points which are within the UK or the Channel Islands).

3.8.2 Business and leisure journeys: the business category includes purposes such as meetings with customers, conferences, trade fares, armed services and airline staff, studies paid for by an employer, overseas employment, etc. The leisure category includes holidays, visiting friends or relatives, migration, culture, sport, study (not paid for by an employer), etc.

3.8.3 UK and Foreign passengers: a passenger is classified as a UK resident if the UK is the country in which he/she has lived for most of the last twelve months.

3.8.4 Mode of transport: this is the mode of surface transport that was used to arrive at the airport - so, in cases where the journey involved the use of more than one mode of transport, it may not be the mode used for the majority of the journey.

3.8.5 Origins and destinations of terminating passengers: when analysing the results of the survey, the CAA used the former Regions for Scottish origins and destinations. The interviewer asks where did you start your journey to catch this flight?. In cases where the answer is not the person's home, the interviewer asks whether it was a transit stop - i.e. somewhere the traveller chose to break the journey to the airport (e.g. an airport hotel prior to an early morning flight, calling in on or staying with relatives, stopping somewhere to rest or for a meal, etc) - and, if it was a transit stop, asks for the proper origin of the journey.

4. Sources

4.1 Tables 8.1 to 8.13 are compiled from information supplied by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

4.2 Air punctuality statistics

4.2.1 These statistics are prepared by the CAA with the co-operation of the airport operators and Airport Coordination Ltd (ACL). They are produced for Edinburgh, Glasgow and some other UK airports. The first year for which information is available varies from airport to airport: for example, figures for Edinburgh are only available from April 1996, so it is not possible to provide figures for Edinburgh for 1996 as a whole, or for any earlier years.

4.2.2 The actual times of flights' wheels on/off the runway are derived from flight air transport movement returns made by airports to the CAA. The planned times, which relate to arrival/departure from the stand, and include changes made up to 24 hours beforehand, are supplied by ACL. The CAA also uses assumptions about taxi-ing time - currently these are:

  • Edinburgh: arrivals - 5 minutes; departures - 10 minutes;
  • Glasgow: arrivals - 5 minutes; departures - 10 minutes

The CAA matches the two sets of data and resolves any obvious mismatches. For example, if an airline appears to operate a series of flights significantly off slot, the CAA will substitute information from published timetables, where these are available, in place of the ACL slot. The statistics are then calculated from the information for those flights for which the data have been matched - so cancelled flights, and flights which are diverted to or from another airport, are excluded from the calculations.

4.6 Survey of passengers

4.6.1 Tables 8.14 to 8.16 were prepared using figures from the Civil Aviation Authority's Passenger Survey reports.

4.6.2 The survey only includes Scottish airports in some years: most recently 2009, and prior to that 2005. Only departing passengers are interviewed, as previous surveys found no significant differences between the characteristics of arriving and departing passengers. The information collected includes: the purpose, origin, destination and type of ticket used for the journey; the age-group, income band, job title and other details needed to determine the socio-economic group of the passenger; the number of people in the party, whether the traveller was accompanied to the airport, and whether the person has flown before; etc.

4.6.3 Each month's sample is weighted, using information on routes and destinations, to gross up the results to the actual level of traffic. The weighting factors therefore vary, but generally, a single survey interview will be weighted in such a way as to represent around 1,000 actual passengers.

5. Further Information

5.1 Further information on UK civil aviation is available from the Civil Aviation Authority's regular publications, from Mrs D McLean of the CAA Data Unit (tel: 0207 453 6258 or e-mail aduoutput@caaerg.org.uk ), and from the CAA Economic Regulation Group's website: http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=80&pagetype=90. For example, the CAA website includes:

  • a wide range of tables of monthly and annual statistics about airports, including the kinds of figures which appear in Tables 8.1 to 8.13 and much other information besides;
  • detailed tables of punctuality statistics, which give figures separately for each operator on each route, for each month and for each year as a whole, for Edinburgh, Glasgow and some other UK airports;
  • detailed reports of the results of the surveys of passengers, which include tables analysing them by purpose of journey, type of service, type of passenger, origin/destination, age-group, income band, socio-economic group, type of business, etc

6. Other data sources

Within Scottish Transport Statistics:

Chapter 3 - Freight includes comparison across freight modes.

Chapter 11 - Personal Travel chapter includes data on visits abroad

Department for Transport produce a number of related publications but most come from the Civil Aviation Authority, see section 5.

Table 8.1  Summary of air transport  
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Passengers thousand
   Terminal 19,783 21,084 22,555 23,795 24,437 25,132 24,348 22,496 20,907 22,065 22,207
   Transit 107 71 102 91 86 109 85 43 50 46 29
   Total 19,890 21,155 22,657 23,886 24,523 25,242 24,433 22,539 20,957 22,111 22,236
Terminal passengers1 by airport
thousand
    Aberdeen 2,549 2,508 2,634 2,852 3,163 3,411 3,290 2,984 2,763 3,083 3,329
    Barra 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 10 10 10 11
    Benbecula 32 32 30 31 33 35 34 33 30 34 31
    Campbeltown 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
    Dundee 45 52 51 49 51 65 61 72 70 62 55
    Edinburgh 6,911 7,476 7,992 8,449 8,607 9,037 8,992 9,043 8,594 9,384 9,194
    Glasgow 7,769 8,115 8,557 8,775 8,820 8,726 8,135 7,213 6,522 6,858 7,150
    Glasgow Prestwick 1,486 1,854 2,159 2,405 2,395 2,421 2,414 1,817 1,660 1,296 1,067
    Inverness 363 435 520 589 671 697 671 583 528 579 602
    Islay 21 21 21 22 26 28 29 26 25 26 21
    Kirkwall 98 103 102 104 117 132 138 138 129 134 132
    Lerwick (Tingwall) 2 2 2 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5
    Scatsta 246 230 229 239 255 253 243 270 279 288 304
    Stornoway 93 106 111 115 120 126 131 122 112 122 116
    Sumburgh 127 110 108 121 128 147 154 139 139 143 149
    Tiree 5 5 6 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 7
    Unst 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Wick John O'Groats 18 17 16 16 20 21 23 21 22 24 25
Terminal passengers by airport group2
    BAA airports 17,229 18,100 19,183 20,076 20,590 21,174 20,418 19,240 17,879 19,325 19,673
    HIAL airports 774 846 930 1,023 1,141 1,214 1,208 1,089 1,012 1,089 1,103
    other airports 1,780 2,138 2,441 2,697 2,706 2,744 2,723 2,185 2,036 1,675 1,456
HIAL 'lifeline' airports3 411 411 410 434 470 516 537 506 484 510 501
tonnes
Freight 77,012 80,788 80,956 79,417 83,260 66,103 50,228 50,886 47,532 45,162 52,200
Aircraft movements4
     Air transport thousand
        Domestic5 222 229 241 255 256 254 247 225 206 206 204
        International5,6 114 113 119 128 138 144 139 129 124 135 138
       Air taxi5 26 26 26 26 26 30 31 28 24 26 29
    Other movements7 111 135 129 135 133 131 126 108 102 100 107
Total 473 503 514 544 554 560 543 490 457 467 478

Source: Civil Aviation Authority - Not National Statistics

1. Statistics are not collected for some of the smaller airports on Orkney and Shetland, which are therefore not included in any overall totals.

2. In cases where the ownership of an airport has changed during the period covered by the table, it is counted on the basis of its ownership in the latest year. Tables 8.14 and 8.15 indicate which airports were HIAL airports and BAA airports in the latest year 

3. Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Islay, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Sumburgh, Tiree, Wick.

4. 'Aircraft movements' excludes both Campbeltown and Barra pre-1999 (see table 8.11). 

5. For 2000 and earlier years, air taxi movements were counted under domestic and International aircraft movements. From 2001, this breakdown is no longer available. They have therefore been shown separately for 2001 onwards.

6. Including UK offshore flights.

7. Other includes positioning flights, local movements, test & training, other flights by air transport operators, aero club, private, official, military and business

Table 8.2   Passengers on selected domestic routes, to/from certain Scottish airports1 
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
thousands
Aberdeen
Edinburgh  0.1  0.0  0.1  0.0  -   -   -   -   -   -   - 
Glasgow  3.9  5.2  4.1  1.1  -   -   0.1  -   -   0.2 0.1
Kirkwall  40.3  40.5  38.8  39.1  42.2  42.8  44.4  39.5  38.6  41.5 47.2
Sumburgh  75.7  63.0  61.2  64.3  68.8  73.3  74.9  63.8  63.5  69.1 75.2
Other Scottish  146.9  132.8  132.7  139.9  156.5  158.7  154.5  166.0  172.4  174.9 188.3
Heathrow  514.7  507.3  623.6  664.0  673.2  659.0  656.0  641.3  617.7  652.5 663.8
Gatwick  241.1  254.7  240.0  217.3  216.7  214.9  148.0  135.5  129.9  177.8 233.9
London City  0.1  0.0  -   0.0  -   -   -   -   -   -  15.8
Luton  163.7  159.1  156.0  156.7  148.7  149.9  139.4  126.9  129.0  147.7 120
Stansted  0.0  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - 
Belfast2  8.6  4.1  4.4  26.7  29.9  25.7  25.4  24.2  19.0  18.9 21.5
Birmingham  52.3  62.3  58.2  60.5  77.9  151.5  146.5  111.1  89.9  83.0 87.3
Bristol  24.8  0.4  2.3  19.5  28.7  26.7  26.9  23.2  22.7  32.8 32.9
Cardiff Wales  3.4  0.1  3.5  13.7  1.4  0.0  -   6.9  0.5  10.5 14.1
Durham Tees valley  18.9  19.6  20.5  24.3  33.7  33.4  33.2  31.9  29.9  31.3 33.4
East Midlands  14.2  14.4  20.9  21.2  22.5  18.8  20.8  19.5  18.1  18.9 19.8
Exeter  -   -   -   -   3.3  24.6  17.6  28.1  30.1  22.4 4.8
Humberside  28.9  28.0  26.7  29.9  29.6  32.5  33.7  32.0  27.1  30.2 32.2
Leeds/Bradford  12.8  12.3  15.9  16.6  20.9  26.7  21.6  15.5  8.1  0.5 0.6
Manchester  150.7  125.3  119.2  119.4  134.7  121.6  132.3  104.6  93.1  144.5 180.7
Newcastle  46.3  19.6  19.9  21.2  26.7  21.8  22.4  18.5  26.4  24.8 24.9
Norwich  52.2  60.7  59.1  57.6  68.7  65.6  65.8  60.9  60.0  61.7 64.6
Plymouth  1.2  0.0  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - 
Southampton  10.0  18.8  20.6  30.0  33.2  40.3  55.5  45.2  27.9  22.6 16.3
Total these routes  1,610.9  1,528.0  1,627.8  1,723.0  1,817.4  1,887.9  1,819.0  1,694.6  1,603.9  1,765.8  1,877.4
Channel Islands  1.8  1.8  1.6  1.6  1.5  1.5  2.4  2.0  2.2  2.1 2.3
Edinburgh
Aberdeen  0.1  0.0  0.1  0.0  -   -   -   -   -   -   - 
Glasgow  0.7  0.3  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   0.2
Inverness  8.1  12.7  17.1  17.1  15.3  10.5  7.5  0.9  1.0  -   - 
Kirkwall  28.0  20.4  20.7  20.4  23.2  29.2  35.7  39.1  35.6  36.5 40.0
Sumburgh  16.7  15.2  15.8  21.9  23.3  26.7  30.8  32.9  32.4  35.6 36.9
Other Scottish  13.4  30.1  37.2  34.7  31.9  31.3  35.6  39.4  29.7  30.8 29.6
Heathrow  1,603.4  1,661.8  1,696.3  1,660.3  1,495.0  1,436.6  1,319.0  1,306.1  1,244.8  1,271.5  1,255.0
Gatwick  679.4  771.1  739.1  753.8  754.1  748.3  704.9  647.9  604.1  669.1 696.8
London City  137.0  117.7  192.3  236.6  313.9  353.9  371.5  326.6  334.8  344.9 322.7
Luton  502.1  485.2  453.2  475.9  444.0  429.1  359.5  315.6  242.0  259.4 269.8
Stansted  513.4  499.9  499.7  520.6  470.2  448.7  401.9  373.7  329.9  390.4 346.4
Belfast2  379.8  327.7  407.1  439.2  423.3  401.8  363.4  351.5  331.2  351.9 361.5
Birmingham  334.9  373.4  384.3  471.1  495.3  435.3  401.1  336.2  288.0  289.0 285.9
Bournemouth  0.1  0.1  -   -   -   -   19.3  88.4  17.7  -  0.2
Bristol  298.4  326.7  326.1  329.7  318.2  260.6  249.8  235.2  227.0  286.6 295.5
Cardiff Wales  29.1  132.3  151.7  159.5  156.3  158.1  162.6  161.0  111.5  83.6 77.7
East Midlands  188.2  314.6  330.2  240.4  175.8  169.8  164.1  130.2  108.7  109.8 72.7
Exeter  -   -   35.9  70.9  82.9  67.7  68.0  61.1  53.8  51.4 40.2
Humberside  2.8  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - 
Leeds/Bradford  49.7  55.1  57.4  51.8  50.8  51.3  36.5  19.0  13.0  9.8 2.2
Manchester  190.3  209.2  222.0  285.9  257.6  237.8  228.6  158.3  126.7  119.6 108.3
Manston (Kent Int)  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   17.6  26.5 3.4
Newcastle  0.0  0.0  -   0.0  -   -   0.1  -   -   -   - 
Newquay  -   -   -   -   5.4  20.4  17.9  12.2  13.1  13.7 9.9
Norwich  22.2  19.5  21.8  52.7  64.0  57.3  58.6  50.4  47.8  46.4 39.7
Plymouth  1.8  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   0.1  - 
Southampton  68.3  98.4  198.4  221.4  237.5  208.1  205.1  191.5  194.0  203.6 204.5
Total these routes  5,068.0  5,471.2  5,806.4  6,064.0  5,838.1  5,582.7  5,241.5  4,877.2  4,404.4  4,630.2  4,499.1
Channel Islands  13.6  20.1  13.1  9.2  26.5  31.1  28.7  23.2  18.3  14.6 11.1
Isle of Man  3.8  12.7  12.7  -   6.0  11.9  13.0  11.5  11.4  11.6 10.8
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
thousands
Glasgow
Aberdeen  3.9  5.2  4.1  1.1  -   -   0.1  -   -   0.2  0.1
Edinburgh  0.7  0.3  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   0.2
Inverness  27.7  21.4  6.2  5.6  1.9  0.1  0.1  -   -   -   1.0
Kirkwall  5.4  5.8  6.9  6.9  11.6  15.5  15.1  15.4  14.9  15.3 15.1
Sumburgh  12.4  15.4  14.4  15.2  15.1  16.5  17.2  17.4  16.8  17.9 18.0
Other Scottish  107.3  107.4  102.9  102.8  122.8  131.3  138.7  129.9  122.2  128.6 125.9
Heathrow  1,448.3  1,465.2  1,535.6  1,427.1  1,284.5  1,207.1  1,143.5  1,080.0  1,003.3  820.9 828.5
Gatwick  338.5  387.8  396.5  372.3  433.0  570.7  521.9  514.7  488.8  565.8 607.4
London City  1.1  28.2  0.0  -   0.0  78.1  112.7  114.9  111.1  149.4 158.2
Luton  509.8  475.0  466.5  451.7  413.9  407.7  352.4  326.0  247.7  274.6 276.5
Stansted  334.5  377.9  396.7  436.4  461.6  448.0  358.6  305.1  301.8  342.8 331.6
Belfast2  428.7  377.0  421.3  457.9  426.1  392.8  324.2  323.9  308.2  352.8 367.0
Birmingham  316.0  361.4  345.1  324.3  326.5  347.0  337.1  269.4  212.6  211.9 208.1
Bournemouth  -    -    -    -    -    -    -    0.1  -    -    -  
Bristol  265.9  293.4  308.8  299.3  279.9  243.1  220.2  212.3  201.2  222.2 239.7
Cardiff Wales  19.0  53.9  0.1  0.1  82.5  76.9  84.0  56.4  52.4  47.2 39.8
City of Derry  14.7  15.5  14.2  14.3  15.9  11.9  9.4  -    -    -    -  
East Midlands  177.3  266.2  209.7  170.1  184.0  172.6  150.9  115.0  99.7  103.4 70.7
Exeter  -    -    33.8  42.0  53.1  56.3  39.4  33.4  26.5  24.4 25.6
Leeds/Bradford  39.2  42.2  44.2  42.8  41.0  38.7  30.4  19.9  14.6  13.2 11.9
Liverpool  -    0.6  -    12.4  -    -    0.1  -    -    0.1  -  
Manchester  143.7  169.2  182.7  169.9  171.2  167.2  151.8  100.4  68.3  49.4 50.0
Newcastle  -    -    -    -    -    -    -    0.2  -    -    -  
Newquay  -    -    -    -    -    -    -    0.3  0.2  0.9 3.6
Plymouth  0.7  0.3  -    -    -    -    17.2  24.4  23.3  13.6  -  
Southampton  66.2  77.3  117.3  192.6  202.6  166.5  161.6  156.3  143.4  139.6 173.6
Total these routes  4,261.2  4,546.7  4,607.1  4,544.7  4,527.1  4,547.9  4,186.6  3,815.4  3,457.0  3,494.2  3,552.5
Channel Islands  13.7  13.2  9.1  10.3  7.4  6.3  5.6  5.4  9.2  17.0 28.3
Isle of Man  24.0  18.1  29.4  29.7  21.8  18.5  16.7  13.8  11.0  11.0 11.1
Glasgow Prestwick
Stansted  694.2  721.1  590.7  504.8  469.6  427.1  402.7  278.3  224.6  88.5  -  
Belfast City  -    -    -    -    0.0  11.8  86.3  91.7  61.2  -    -  
Birmingham  -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -  
Bournemouth  -    85.0  100.4  97.5  93.3  94.1  129.0  34.3  -    -    -  
Cardiff Wales  -    36.3  50.9  32.8  4.9  -    -    -    -    -    -  
City of Derry  -    -    -    -    2.8  58.6  64.0  51.3  55.0  70.6 72.8
Total these routes  694.2  842.4  742.0  635.2  570.6  591.6  682.0  455.6  340.8  159.1  72.8
Channel Islands  1.3  -    -    -    -    -    -    -    1.4  -    -  
Isle of Man  -    8.1  0.3  -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -  
Inverness
Edinburgh  8.1  12.7  17.1  17.1  15.3  10.5  7.5  0.9  1.0  -   - 
Glasgow  27.7  21.4  6.2  5.6  1.9  0.1  0.1  -   -   -   1.0
Kirkwall  14.2  16.0  16.4  18.5  22.0  25.9  25.1  24.8  23.1  21.7 16.8
Sumburgh  1.0  0.1  0.2  0.1  0.2  0.1  0.2  -    -    1.5 4.2
Other Scottish  26.3  28.4  31.5  33.2  33.5  37.8  35.7  33.1  29.8  36.4 36.3
Heathrow  -    -    46.9  65.7  51.0  53.5  7.9  -    -    -    -  
Gatwick  158.9  224.5  247.8  235.0  240.8  221.6  243.2  224.9  206.8  222.7 230.4
London City  0.0  -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -  
Luton  111.8  112.3  115.0  102.4  100.5  102.3  102.5  86.6  90.3  99.6 88.8
Stansted  2.3  -    0.2  -    -    0.3  -    -    -    0.2 0.1
Belfast2  -    -   -   29.2  40.7  24.4  22.6  19.3  16.8  21.5 23.6
Birmingham  -    1.6  12.7  15.3  18.2  15.1  24.9  30.3  30.4  30.3 33.0
Bristol  -    -    -    41.3  82.5  82.1  74.0  73.3  69.2  75.4 78.1
East Midlands Int  -    -    -    -    -    34.1  40.2  20.4  -    -    -  
Exeter  -    -    -    -    -    -    5.8  -    -    -    -  
Leeds/Bradford  -    -    -    -    4.7  2.4  0.8  -    -    -   0.1
Liverpool  -    -    -    -    14.5  43.8  -    -    -    -    -  
Manchester  2.0  14.4  15.3  18.1  20.6  16.7  42.9  50.5  46.4  49.2 51.0
Southhampton  -    -    -    -    -    3.3  14.9  3.9  2.4  2.1 1.8
Total these routes  352.3  431.4  509.3  581.6  646.3  673.8  648.3  568.0  516.2  560.6  565.2
Channel Islands  -    -    -    -    -    -    0.9  1.2  1.3  1.8 1.6

Source: Civil Aviation Authority - Not National Statistics

1.  In this table only, non-paying passengers are excluded up to 2001 but included from then on. In addition, this table excludes some of the smaller domestic routes. Note also that passengers between the four main cities will be counted twice eg flights between Aberdeen and Edinburgh will appear in both the 'Aberdeen' and the 'Edinburgh' sections.

2.  Belfast includes Belfast and Belfast City airport.

Fig 8.1 Terminal air passenger traffic, 2002 and 2012

Table 8.3 (a) International air passenger traffic to and from the main Scottish international airports1 
REGIONAL AREA / COUNTRY 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
EU 27 countries thousand
Austria  14.0  13.1  21.9  28.4  23.3  21.9  21.7  28.9  24.9  28.2 28.3
Belgium  162.3  139.7  149.2  161.8  140.1  121.0  121.0  113.3  134.0  110.6 115.6
Bulgaria  24.8  34.7  60.4  71.7  65.4  60.1 63.1 48.4 45.2 45.6 46.8
Cyprus  164.5  145.7  126.6  153.6  151.2  139.4  152.8  139.4  95.9  148.7 152.9
Czech Republic  0.3  32.0  119.8  207.0  142.5  70.0  63.4  47.5  44.6  47.9 48.0
Denmark  86.6  75.6  71.2  102.8  135.8  129.6  147.2  178.1  175.8  178.2 188.6
Estonia 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 29.1 0.0
Finland  -   -   5.5  6.2  22.0  16.6  5.7  3.5  34.6  37.4 32.1
France  368.3  435.2  474.2  525.6  569.4  690.0  859.4  862.1  790.7  787.5 808.3
Germany  258.5  344.8  319.7  493.1  484.4  566.4  641.7  663.7  660.3  682.0 698.7
Greece  254.6  276.0  272.8  248.6  235.2  209.8  161.6  158.9  153.8  163.7 212.9
Hungary  -    -    0.5  0.1  0.1  6.9  33.1  30.2  19.6  24.4 36.5
Irish Republic  1,009.0  946.7  994.8  1,024.5  1,113.7  1,143.3  1,186.3  1,015.9  849.4  852.8 816.6
Italy  54.6  86.0  246.3  365.0  331.0  380.3  348.1  401.8  359.2  342.3 384.3
Latvia  -    -    -    -    7.3  49.5  31.5  36.5  47.2  46.5 20.2
Lithuania  -    -    0.2  -    0.8  4.2  6.0  -    28.3  32.3 29.0
Luxembourg  -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   0.2
Malta  42.6  40.3  49.2  45.9  35.7  40.9  37.9  45.6  52.7  71.2 57.5
Netherlands  1,056.5  1,035.5  1,028.6  988.8  1,072.4  1,125.3  1,078.8  987.2  1,006.9  1,135.0 1223.3
Poland  -    -    1.0  15.1  227.4  341.3  384.3  374.2  328.0  326.9 341.3
Portugal (excl Madeira)  153.4  174.8  190.5  214.2  252.5  261.0  266.0  207.5  212.4  280.0 273.9
Portugal (Madeira)  24.3  25.7  30.4  22.2  20.0  25.7  36.1  34.4  21.7  23.1 22.8
Romania  -    -    -    -    -    -    -   3.0  -   -   - 
Slovenia  -    -    -    0.8  0.1  -    0.1  0.1  0.2  0.9 0.0
Slovak Republic  -    -    -    -    -    -   6.6 50.3 49.9 44.2 33.6
Spain (excl Canary Isles)   1,266.0  1,536.2  1,663.2  1,799.1  1,948.7  2,101.8  1,908.4  1,679.7  1,483.7  1,726.8 1746.8
Spain (Canary Islands)   722.1  778.0  734.0  766.9  773.2  771.2  795.6  666.0  658.1  838.3 816.6
Sweden  -   88.0  209.6  192.8  143.9  152.5  149.5  159.3  131.9  137.4 128.2
Total EU27 countries  5,662.7  6,207.9  6,769.7  7,434.1  7,896.0  8,428.9  8,505.9  7,935.5  7,409.1  8,141.2  8,262.9
Total EU15 countries2  5,430.5  5,955.3  6,412.0  6,940.0  7,265.7  7,716.5  7,727.1  7,160.3  6,697.4  7,323.5  7,497.1
Other identified countries
Azerbaijan  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -  - 4.1 5.8
Barbados  -   -   -   -   -  3.5 7.1 8.0 8.4 7.6 6.0
Canada  142.5  135.1  210.3  216.7  189.5  207.7 160 107.5 103.3 112.4 117.8
Cape Verde Islands  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -  13.4 22.0
Croatia  -   0.2  1.9  5.7  11.7  15.6 12.9 24.3 11.6 7.1 12.9
Cuba  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -  0.8 1.3 0.8
Dominican Republic  -   -   10.7  23.7  13.5  14.0 22.8 25.5 23.1 16.8 0.7
Egypt  -   -   -   25.5  64.0  55.8 67.5 97.9 97.8 72.9 66.3
Faroe Islands  6.9  8.8  5.6  5.0  3.8  3.8 0.7 0.5 1.1 0.9 0.6
Greenland  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -  4.1 8.7  - 
Iceland  67.6  52.8  58.9  62.3  55.4  46.5 30.8 9.7 25.0 33.2 42.6
Jamaica  -   -   -   -   -   -   -  2.3 0.5 0.9 0.0
Mexico  15.1  15.4  15.1  21.6  19.8  27.9 22.1 22.9 28.6 35.3 33.2
Morocco  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -  19.7 25.2 0.2
Norway  188.0  208.7  246.3  271.4  285.9  307.2 305.2 302.1 281.2 309.4 337.4
Pakistan  -   -   -   2.5  27.9  9.3 18.4 25.5 26.3 1.9  - 
Russia  ..   ..   1.2  0.7  0.4  0.7  -  0.8 0.7  -   0.7
Switzerland  27.8  29.7  41.4  52.8  118.4  149.8 155.5 148.2 154.9 215.4 236.5
Tunisia  15.3  13.7  35.5  28.8  35.6  35.7 34 38.9 66.3 21.6 32.7
Turkey  99.7  98.3  135.0  176.0  165.9  216.3 260.4 268.6 329.3 328.0 316.0
United Arab Emirates  ..   ..   98.6  167.6  192.9  231.1 240.7 244.7 268.5 275.0 314.7
United States of America  268.7  256.1  382.4  438.5  559.9  569.5 483.5 459.7 366.1 411.3 367.7
Total these countries  831.7  818.8  1,242.8  1,498.7  1,744.7  1,894.5  1,821.6  1,787.1  1,817.1  1,902.3  1,914.4
All identified countries
for these airports  6,494.5  7,026.7  8,012.5  8,932.8  9,640.7  10,323.4  10,327.5  9,722.6  9,226.2  10,043.5  10,177.3

Source: Civil Aviation Authority - Not National Statistics

1. For the purpose of preparing this table, Scotland's main international airports are Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Glasgow Prestwick. This table does not cover all international traffic, as indicated by the lower part of table 8.4.

2. The EU15 was the number of member countries in the European Union prior to the accession of ten candidate countries on 1 May 2004. The EU15 comprised the following 15 countries:

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom. 

Table 8.3(b) Scheduled international passenger traffic to/from the main Scottish international airports1 
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Foreign airports served2 40 54 66 71 83 93 95 103 100 101 107
Routes3 53 82 95 97 122 142 150 168 145 146 154
  thousand
Passengers on  scheduled services 3,603.4 3,982.2 5,161.6 6,279.2 7,141.3 7,938.3 8,153.4 8,054.5 7,390.8 8,172.6 8,396.7

Source: Civil Aviation Authority - Not National Statistics

1.  These figures are produced from the information about scheduled services in the Civil Aviation Authority's UK Airport Statistics Table 12.1, so are based on its conventions and definitions. For the purpose of this table, Scotland's main international airports are Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Glasgow Prestwick. This table does not cover all scheduled international traffic.

2.  The number of foreign airports shown in the CAA table as the destinations of international scheduled services from Scottish airports in that year.   For example, the CAA table shows Rome (Ciampino) and Rome (Fiumicino) separately (for services from Glasgow Prestwick and Edinburgh respectively, in 2003) so they are counted as two separate foreign airports.

3.   International scheduled services to the same foreign airport from different Scottish airports are counted as separate routes.  For example, Aberdeen/Dublin, Edinburgh/Dublin, Glasgow/Dublin and Glasgow Prestwick/Dublin are counted as four separate routes.  More than one airline may operate services on a particular route. 

Table 8.4 Passenger traffic on selected international routes, to and from Scotland's main airports1, 2012
Scheduled Charter Total
Austria  6,212  22,064  28,276
Azerbaijan  5,819  -    5,819
Barbados  -    6,044  6,044
Belgium  114,983  574  115,557
Bulgaria  -    46,753  46,753
Canada  117,753  -    117,753
Cape Verde Islands  22,025  -    22,025
Croatia  11,426  1,435  12,861
Cuba  -    837  837
Cyprus  58,691  94,236  152,927
Czech Republic  48,001  -    48,001
Denmark  187,943  616  188,559
Dominican Republic  -    650  650
Egypt  -    66,266  66,266
Faroe Islands  -    612  612
Finland  26,619  5,486  32,105
France  779,131  29,165  808,296
Germany  697,844  875  698,719
Greece  67,349  145,533  212,882
Hungary  36,397  112  36,509
Iceland  42,617  14  42,631
Irish Republic  814,657  1,895  816,552
Italy  334,935  49,347  384,282
Latvia  20,159  -    20,159
Lithuania  29,049  -    29,049
Malta  43,196  14,270  57,466
Mexico  -    33,157  33,157
Netherlands  1,222,765  542  1,223,307
Norway  334,706  2,728  337,434
Pakistan  -    -    -  
Poland  340,213  1,060  341,273
Portugal (other than Madeira)  244,813  29,074  273,887
Portugal (Madeira)  -    22,802  22,802
Slovak Republic  33,642  -    33,642
Spain (other than  Canary Islands)  1,337,300  409,518  1,746,818
Spain (Canary Islands)  380,537  436,110  816,647
Sweden  125,923  2,287  128,210
Switzerland  221,657  14,801  236,458
Tunisia  -    32,665  32,665
Turkey  61,836  254,193  316,029
United Arab Emirates  314,692  -    314,692
United States of America  313,794  53,865  367,659
Total passenger traffic counted for these countries for Scotland's main airports2  8,396,684  1,779,586  10,176,270
Other international traffic at main Scottish airports2  ..   ..   1,648
All international traffic for Scotland's main airports  ..   ..   10,177,918
International traffic at other Scottish airports   ..   ..   35,740
Total International traffic at all Scottish airports  ..   ..   10,213,658

Source: Civil Aviation Authority - Not National Statistics

1. For the purpose of preparing this table, Scotland's main international airports are Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Glasgow Prestwick.

2. Charter only routes are counted under 'Other international traffic' in cases where fewer than 5,000 passengers were carried from an airport to a particular country.  

Table 8.5 The 10 international airports with the largest numbers of passenger journeys for flights directly to and from Scotland's main airports1, 2012
Scheduled Charter Total
Amsterdam  1,219,643  401  1,220,044
Dublin  697,821  1,440  699,261
Paris (Charles De Gaulle)  514,723  4,367  519,090
Tenerife (Surreina Sofia)  206,660  220,448  427,108
Palma De Mallorca  232,240  170,049  402,289
Alicante  334,672  61,929  396,601
Malaga  327,364  28,311  355,675
Dubai  314,692  -    314,692
Frankfurt Main  280,554  296  280,850
Faro  219,958  25,822  245,780

Source: Civil Aviation Authority - Not National Statistics

1. For the purpose of preparing this table, Scotland's main international airports are Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Glasgow Prestwick.

Table 8.6   Terminal passenger traffic by origin/destination, 2012
Other Scottish Airports Other UK Airports1 UK offshore Eire Europe North America Rest of world Total
Aberdeen  310,883  1,568,847  512,839  37,287  897,993  -  462  3,328,311
Barra  11,414  -  -  -  -  -  -  11,414
Benbecula  31,830  -  -  -  -  -  -  31,830
Campbeltown  8,689  -  -  -  -  -  -  8,689
Dundee  81  54,600  -  -  60  -  -  54,741
Eday  539  -  -  -  -  -  -  539
Edinburgh  106,724  4,414,241  -  484,914  4,039,995  145,295  3,213  9,194,382
Fair Isle  3,163  -  -  -  -  -  -  3,163
Foula  1,446  -  -  -  -  -  -  1,446
Glasgow  159,220  3,431,695  -  169,455  2,593,902  340,117  473,174  7,167,563
Inverness  57,472  508,744  175  30  33,571  -  -  599,992
Islay  25,299  -  -  -  -  -  -  25,299
Kirkwall  145,342  -  54  -  -  -  -  145,396
Lerwick (Tingwall)  4,933  -  107  -  -  -  -  5,040
North Ronaldsay  5,640  -  -  -  -  -  -  5,640
Out Skerries  366  -  -  -  -  -  -  366
Papa Stour  60  -  -  -  -  -  -  60
Papa Westray  3,891  -  -  -  -  -  -  3,891
Glasgow Prestwick  -  72,752  -  124,896  867,215  -  -  1,064,863
Sanday  2,428  -  -  -  -  -  -  2,428
Scatsta  168,251  62  139,617  -  -  -  -  307,930
Stornoway  126,983  254  -  -  -  -  -  127,237
Stronsay  2,808  -  -  -  -  -  -  2,808
Sumburgh  142,428  -  4,172  -  1,925  -  -  148,525
Tiree  7,864  -  -  -  -  -  -  7,864
Westray  2,979  -  -  -  -  -  -  2,979
Wick John O'Groats  24,283  -  1,462  -  154  -  -  25,899
Total  1,355,016  10,051,195  658,426  816,582  8,434,815  485,412  476,849  22,278,295

Source: Civil Aviation Authority - Not National Statistics

1. Channel Islands and the Isle of Man were not  included in previous editions of this table. Although they are now, they represent less than one percent of travel to other UK airports. 

Table 8.7  Terminal air passengers by airport, international/domestic and type of service, 2012
Airport International/UK Offshore Domestic Total
Scheduled Charter Total Scheduled Charter Total
Aberdeen  852,729  595,729  1,448,458  1,699,048  181,027  1,880,075  3,328,533
Barra  -    -    -    11,414  -    11,414  11,414
Benbecula  -    -    -    30,849  -    30,849  30,849
Campbeltown  -    -    -    8,689  -    8,689  8,689
Dundee  -    72  72  53,027  1,543  54,570  54,642
Edinburgh  4,415,946  257,512  4,673,458  4,519,873  1,003  4,520,876  9,194,334
Glasgow  2,135,729  1,441,090  3,576,819  3,571,420  1,856  3,573,276  7,150,095
Glasgow Prestwick  992,312  890  993,202  73,680  35  73,715  1,066,917
Inverness  27,814  5,953  33,767  567,074  709  567,783  601,550
Islay  -    -    -    21,230  -    21,230  21,230
Kirkwall  -    69  69  131,956  210  132,166  132,235
Lerwick (Tingwall)  -    107  107  4,930  4  4,934  5,041
Scatsta  -    139,617  139,617  -    164,809  164,809  304,426
Stornoway  -    -    -    115,601  259  115,860  115,860
Sumburgh  1,476  4,649  6,125  135,094  7,642  142,736  148,861
Tiree  -    -    -    7,317  -    7,317  7,317
Wick  -    1,616  1,616  22,233  1,071  23,304  24,920
Total  8,426,006  2,447,304  10,873,310  10,973,435  360,168  11,333,603  22,206,913

Source: Civil Aviation Authority - Not National Statistics

(a) Domestic traffic is counted both at the airport of arrival and at the airport of departure.

The total of domestic traffic is, therefore, only a measure of airport activity.

Statistics are not collected for some of the smaller airports on Orkney and Shetland and are therefore not included in any overall totals.

Table 8.8 Punctuality of flights at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Edinburgh
Flights to/from UK origins / destinations numbers
Matched 72,104 70,112 76,096 82,233 79,818 75,021 72,499 64,086 58,282 58,404 56,926
Unmatched - actual1 438 271 767 318 278 308 366 193 268 106 82
Unmatched - planned2 1,149 657 718 1,326 932 816 517 365 1,083 274 257
Percentage of flights late3 percentages
early to 15 mins late 76 75 75 74 74 73 79 84 79 84 84
16 to 30 mins late 12 12 13 13 13 13 10 8 9 8 8
31 to 60 mins late 7 7 8 8 8 8 7 5 6 5 5
1 hr 1 min to 3 hrs late 4 4 4 4 5 5 4 3 5 3 3
3hrs 1 min to 6 hrs late 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
more than 6 hrs late 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
minutes
Average delay4 13 14 13 14 15 15 12 10 13 9 9
All flights (UK and international) numbers
Matched 96,257 96,141 102,667 108,802 109,307 109,402 107,172 100,408 94,863 99,823 97645
Unmatched - actual1 618 526 1,051 526 508 613 518 387 492 276 188
Unmatched - planned2 1,450 934 837 1,536 1,107 1,074 769 575 2,061 552 312
Percentage of flights late3 percentages
early to 15 mins late 74 75 74 74 74 73 77 82 77 83 84
16 to 30 mins late 13 12 13 13 13 13 11 9 10 9 8
31 to 60 mins late 8 7 8 8 8 8 7 5 7 5 5
1 hr 1 min to 3 hrs late 5 4 4 4 5 5 4 3 5 3 3
3hr 1 min to 6 hrs late 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
more than 6 hrs late 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
minutes
Average delay4 14 14 14 14 15 16 13 11 15 10 9
Glasgow
Flights to/from UK origins / destinations numbers
Matched 60,165 60,771 63,046 66,243 66,121 65,538 60,243 51,934 47,933 46,214 47,010
Unmatched - actual1 884 551 496 308 466 906 636 198 233 118 88
Unmatched - planned2 441 345 296 390 778 726 375 274 763 305 240
Percentage of flights late percentages
early to 15 mins late 76 78 80 79 76 77 79 85 80 85 85
16 to 30 mins late 12 11 10 10 11 11 10 7 8 7 7
31 to 60 mins late 7 7 6 6 7 7 7 4 6 4 4
1 hr 1 min to 3 hrs late 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 3 5 3 3
3hrs 1 min to 6 hrs late 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
more than 6 hrs late 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
minutes
Average delay 4 13 12 12 12 13 13 12 10 12 9 9
All flights (UK and international) numbers
Matched 86,004 86,500 90,093 95,198 95,383 91,886 85,274 73,262 68,291 69,507 71,636
Unmatched - actual1 1,119 834 916 522 730 1,146 814 294 482 176 160
Unmatched - planned2 637 559 763 568 966 908 526 330 1,175 393 297
75 75 75 75
Percentage of flights late percentages
early to 15 mins late 76 77 78 78 75 74 75 82 77 83 83
16 to 30 mins late 12 11 10 11 12 11 11 8 9 8 8
31 to 60 mins late 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 5 7 5 5
1 hr 1 min to 3 hrs late 5 4 4 4 5 5 5 4 6 4 4
3hrs 1 min to 6 hrs late 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
more than 6 hrs late 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
minutes
Average delay4 15 14 14 14 15 17 16 12 16 11 11

Source: Civil Aviation Authority - Not National Statistics

1. Air transport movements which took place but for which there was no corresponding planned flight (e.g. diversions from another airport to this airport)

2. Planned flights for which there was no air transport movement (e.g. flights that were cancelled or diverted to another airport)

3. The punctuality figures for Edinburgh for 2001 onwards are not comparable to the figures for 2000 and earlier years. From January 2001, a different assumption has been used for the taxi-ing time for departures from Edinburgh airport.

4. The average delays for 2000 onwards are not comparable to the figures for 1999 and earlier years. Up to December 1999, an early flight was counted as a "negative delay"; from January 2000, an early flights is counted as "zero delay" 

Table 8.9   Aircraft movements, by airport and type of movement, 20121 
Commercial Movements Non-commercial Movements Total
Airport Air Transport Position-  ing Flights Local Move-ments Total Test and Training Other Flights by air transport operators Aero Club Private Official Millitary Business Total
Aberdeen  104,227  4,619  1  108,847  2,764  62  1,839  342  1  59  1,099 6,166 115,013
Barra  1,319  5  -  1,324  -  -  -  79  -  -  - 79 1,403
Benbecula  3,958  317  6  4,281  70  -  2  75  -  50  - 197 4,478
Campbeltown  1,105  89  -  1,194  -  -  18  94  -  221  - 333 1,527
Dundee  2,872  352  244  3,468  896  101  35,118  764  8  44  527 37,458 40,926
Edinburgh  106,958  1,758  -  108,716  47  44  509  117  9  216  630 1,572 110,288
Glasgow  74,615  1,869  2  76,486  100  57  2,663  198  3  128  837 3,986 80,472
Glasgow Prestwick  8,166  348  -  8,514  2,923  2  7,847  2,346  -  4,038  - 17,156 25,670
Inverness  14,814  1,471  13  16,298  1,167  154  11,972  1,519  -  43  611 15,466 31,764
Islay  1,817  190  2  2,009  1  -  -  593  -  348  18 960 2,969
Kirkwall  12,400  777  16  13,193  196  9  217  325  -  22  18 787 13,980
Lerwick (Tingwall)  1,783  59  28  1,870  22  2  8  22  -  -  - 54 1,924
Scatsta  13,915  1,003  -  14,918  640  29  -  -  -  -  - 669 15,587
Stornoway  9,367  383  261  10,011  1,095  1  4  330  -  117  6 1,553 11,564
Sumburgh  10,963  1,066  217  12,246  1,682  -  -  91  -  26  - 1,799 14,045
Tiree  1,121  5  -  1,126  -  -  -  98  -  -  - 98 1,224
Wick John O'Groats  2,660  989  -  3,649  678  1  4  1,078  -  34  30 1,825 5,474
Total 372,060 15,300 790 388,150 12,281 462 60,201 8,071 21 5,346 3,776 90,158 478,308

Source: Civil Aviation Authority - Not National Statistics

1. Statistics are not collected for some of the smaller airports on Orkney and Shetland and are therefore not included in any overall totals.

Table 8.10   Air transport movements by airport, type of service and operator, 20122 
Scheduled Charter Air taxi1 movements Total
Airport UK Operators Over seas Operators Total UK Operators Over seas Operators Total
Aberdeen  40,572  14,191 54,763  43,832  188 44,020  5,444 104,227
Barra  1,254  - 1,254  -  -  -  65 1,319
Benbecula  2,420  - 2,420  -  -  -  1,538 3,958
Campbeltown  953  - 953  -  -  -  152 1,105
Dundee  1,328  1,339 2,667  35  4 39  166 2,872
Edinburgh  68,267  27,928 96,195  4,711  1,978 6,689  4,074 106,958
Glasgow  55,398  9,682 65,080  6,463  744 7,207  2,328 74,615
Glasgow Prestwick  14  8,067 8,081  10  61 71  14 8,166
Inverness  10,237  36 10,273  34  70 104  4,437 14,814
Islay  1,353  - 1,353  -  - 0  464 1,817
Kirkwall  9,663  - 9,663  63  2 65  2,672 12,400
Lerwick (Tingwall)  1,496  - 1,496  49  -  49  238 1,783
Scatsta  -  -  -  13,626  - 13,626  289 13,915
Stornoway  6,434  - 6,434  8  4 12  2,921 9,367
Sumburgh  6,167  - 6,167  852  53 905  3,891 10,963
Tiree  885  - 885  -  -  -  236 1,121
Wick John O'Groats  1,871  - 1,871  90  191 281  508 2,660
Total 208,312 61,243 269,555 69,773 3,295 73,068 29,437 372,060

Source: Civil Aviation Authority - Not National Statistics

1. A breakdown of air taxi movements between scheduled and chartered aircraft transport movements is no longer available. They have therefore been shown as a separate category.

2. Statistics are not collected for some of the smaller airports on Orkney and Shetland, which are therefore not included in any overall totals.

Table 8.11   Air transport movements1
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Aberdeen 88,656 84,313 81,488 85,302 94,382 102,989 108,453 106,366  99,419  92,287  99,452  104,227
Barra 1,304 1,226 1,282 1,227 1,232 1,265 1,209 1,262  1,199  1,178  1,183  1,319
Benbecula 3,600 3,489 3,527 3,702 3,911 4,052 4,320 4,145  4,292  3,965  3,912  3,958
Campbeltown 1,400 1,395 1,294 1,357 1,293 1,268 1,307 1,216  1,359  1,251  1,133  1,105
Dundee 2,686 2,875 2,884 2,513 2,536 2,523 3,513 3,910  4,159  3,838  3,033  2,872
Edinburgh 100,161 106,920 107,558 115,205 119,061 118,690 120,096 118,899  111,059  104,288  108,708  106,958
Glasgow 95,067 91,027 91,862 96,278 99,700 99,157 97,277 90,977  77,874  71,598  72,377  74,615
Glasgow Prestwick 13,480 15,280 19,423 19,189 20,554 19,464 20,454 20,427  15,496  13,135  10,017  8,166
Inverness 12,441 13,426 16,105 18,427 20,139 20,601 19,352 17,936  15,791  13,254  15,097  14,814
Islay 1,558 1,520 1,557 1,528 1,579 1,738 1,731 1,869  1,677  1,809  2,004  1,817
Kirkwall 10,042 11,065 11,771 11,714 11,954 13,226 14,008 14,121  13,849  12,945  12,599  12,400
Lerwick (Tingwall) 2,100 2,140 2,325 2,127 2,328 2,029 1,913 1,863  2,011  1,652  1,817  1,783
Scatsta 10,874 10,392 9,888 10,012 10,430 11,445 11,333 10,743  12,704  12,731  13,199  13,915
Stornoway 5,457 5,822 6,558 7,259 8,135 9,646 9,741 10,028  9,484  8,842  9,190  9,367
Sumburgh 7,874 8,042 6,137 6,157 7,562 8,453 9,861 9,812  8,435  8,237  9,156  10,963
Tiree 718 751 744 724 724 753 755 937  1,109  1,023  1,019  1,121
Unst 138  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
Wick John O'Groats 3,023 2,908  2,933  2,905  3,280 3,253 2,860  2,571  2,776  2,394  2,416  2,660
Total 360,579 362,591 367,336 385,626 408,800 420,552 428,183 417,082  382,693  354,427  366,312  372,060

Source: Civil Aviation Authority - Not National Statistics

1. Statistics are not collected for some of the smaller airports on Orkney and Shetland and are therefore not included in any overall totals.

Table 8.12   Total aircraft movements, by airport1
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Aberdeen  104,801  100,207  97,895  98,598  109,232  116,971  121,927  119,831  109,876  102,396  108,862  115,013
Barra  1,355  1,307  1,394  1,358  1,323  1,321  1,296  1,310  1,356  1,252  1,258  1,403
Benbecula  4,162  4,068  4,147  4,209  4,466  4,462  4,810  4,660  4,779  4,402  4,366  4,478
Campbeltown  2,081  1,957  1,828  1,913  2,500  3,837  3,674  1,921  2,418  2,334  1,993  1,527
Dundee  28,349  18,713  30,716  32,099  37,261  37,444  37,292  36,297  39,274  37,169  36,815  40,926
Edinburgh  112,361  118,416  118,943  125,317  127,122  126,914  128,172  125,550  115,969  108,997  113,357  110,288
Glasgow  110,408  104,393  105,597  107,885  110,581  110,034  108,305  100,087  85,281  77,755  78,111  80,472
Glasgow Prestwick  48,144  43,190  57,099  55,998  54,996  48,189  47,910  42,708  34,230  33,087  28,546  25,670
Inverness  27,298  26,959  31,171  33,477  37,879  40,826  39,139  40,538  30,290  28,155  30,755  31,764
Islay  2,326  2,178  2,576  2,306  2,334  2,558  2,650  2,625  2,603  2,775  3,003  2,969
Kirkwall  11,838  12,461  13,524  13,466  13,375  14,719  15,574  15,982  15,590  14,535  14,131  13,980
Lerwick (Tingwall)  2,441  2,240  2,361  2,214  2,416  2,131  2,050  2,085  2,157  1,859  1,926  1,924
Scatsta  11,223  10,997  10,728  10,958  11,257  12,335  12,961  12,951  14,364  13,841  14,475  15,587
Stornoway  7,943  8,092  8,841  9,508  10,665  12,363  12,716  13,072  11,627  10,952  11,255  11,564
Sumburgh  11,094  11,776  8,701  8,655  10,409  12,185  13,984  14,758  12,159  11,118  12,228  14,045
Tiree  868  901  849  868  858  858  868  1,071  1,316  1,210  1,111  1,224
Unst  138  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
Wick John O'Groats  5,521  5,440  6,363  5,624  6,931  6,721  6,327  7,221  6,231  4,754  4,734  5,474
Total 492,351 473,295 502,733  514,453  543,605  553,868  559,655  542,667  489,520  456,591  466,926  478,308

Source: Civil Aviation Authority - Not National Statistics

1.  Statistics are not collected for some of the smaller airports on Orkney and Shetland, which are therefore not included in any overall totals.

Table 8.13  Freight carried by airport1
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
  tonnes
Aberdeen  3,808  3,478  3,762  4,089  4,022  3,434  4,006  3,822  4,211  5,311  6,166
Barra3  83  87  87  86  56  37  34  34  29  29  27
Benbecula3  1,470  1,450  1,383  1,416  910  590  587  564  531  466  475
Campbeltown3  2  2  2  2  1  2  1  1  1  1  -  
Dundee  -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -  
Edinburgh2  21,232  24,761  27,376  29,595  36,389  19,292  12,418  23,791  20,357  19,332  19,115
Glasgow2  5,041  4,927  8,122  8,733  6,289  4,276  3,546  2,334  2,914  2,430  9,497
Glasgow Prestwick  39,500  39,975  34,102  29,199  28,537  31,517  22,966  13,385  12,163  11,846  10,314
Inverness3  1,667  1,724  1,645  1,722  2,170  2,347  2,104  2,443  2,800  1,833  2,601
Islay3  224  252  252  252  246  312  335  340  310  287  284
Kirkwall3  712  696  893  904  904  709  730  646  777  132  97
Lerwick (Tingwall)  -   44  0  1  -   -   -   -    -    -    -  
Scatsta  676  655  695  725  730  765  723  752  765  808  873
Stornoway3  1,544  1,622  1,523  1,562  1,881  1,717  1,610  1,641  1,630  1,659  1,704
Sumburgh3  994  1,041  1,045  1,068  1,061  1,036  1,109  1,075  990  979  990
Tiree3  53  56  58  57  59  60  56  56  52  49  57
Unst  -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -  
Wick John O'Groats3  6  18  12  5  6  8  3  2  2  1  -  
Total 77,012 80,788 80,956 79,417 83,260 66,103 50,228 50,886 47,532 45,162 52,200

Source: Civil Aviation Authority - Not National Statistics

1. Statistics are not collected for some of the smaller airports on Orkney and Shetland, which are therefore not included in any overall totals.

2. The change in the figures for Glasgow and Edinburgh in 1998 was due to a company switching its parcel hub from Glasgow to Edinburgh in 1998.

3. Data for these airports previously came from CAA which does not hold detailed information (passengers/freight carried) etc for charter services operated by aircraft  below 15 tonnes  Maximum Take Off Mass . However, more detailed information including smaller aircraft has now been obtained from Highland & Islands airports Ltd and the figures have been revised back to 2000.

Table 8.14   Characteristics of terminal passengers, 20091 
International passengers  Domestic passengers All services All
Business Leisure Business Leisure Busin-ess Leisure UK resid. Foreign resid.
Airport UK resid. Non UK resid. UK resid. Non UK resid. UK resid. Non UK resid. UK resid. Non UK resid.
 row percentages 
Aberdeen 9.7 7.7 13.0 3.7 33.9 2.9 25.8 3.3 54.2 45.8 82.4 17.6  100
Edinburgh 3.0 3.0 21.2 18.7 22.0 1.6 24.0 6.4 29.6 70.3 70.2 29.7  100
Glasgow 2.2 1.2 37.7 6.1 24.2 1.4 23.7 3.6 29.0 71.1 87.8 12.3  100
Glasgow Prestwick 2.3 2.7 42.8 26.8 2.8 0.3 18.9 3.3 8.1 91.8 66.8 33.1  100
Inverness 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.6 25.9 2.1 64.7 6.2 28.0 71.9 91.0 8.9  100

Source: Civil Aviation Authority - Not National Statistics

1. The CAA survey collected statistics only for the airports shown in the table.

Table 8.15   Mode of surface transport used to arrive at the airport1 
Airport2 Bus and rail Car and taxi Other modes Total all modes*
Bus / coach Rail Total bus + rail Private car Hire car Taxi / minicab Total car + taxi
 row percentages 
Aberdeen 1975 13 0 13 50 7 28 85 3 101
1982 9 0 9 50 8 30 88 3 100
1990 6 0 6 49 8 36 93 1 100
1996 5 0 5 55 7 32 94 1 100
2001 4.7 0.0 4.7 49.2 5.2 38.8 93.2 2.1 100
2005 6.2 0.0 6.2 49.5 6.1 36.9 92.5 1.3 100
2009 5.2 2.5 7.7 49.2 4.3 36.2 89.7 2.4 100
Edinburgh 1970 24 0 24 54 6 13 73 3 100
1975 22 0 22 55 8 14 77 1 100
1982 9 0 9 61 10 19 90 2 101
1990 7 0 7 56 10 25 91 1 99
1996 9 0 9 53 10 28 91 0 100
2001 18.4 0.0 18.4 46.8 6.3 28.1 81.2 0.4 100
2005 19.3 0.0 19.3 48.6 5.8 25.7 80.1 0.6 100
2009 28.1 3.3 31.4 42.6 5.1 20.4 68.1 0.5 100
Glasgow 1970 24 0 24 54 4 16 74 2 100
1975 16 0 16 60 4 19 83 1 100
1982 8 0 8 70 4 17 91 1 100
1990 8 0 8 62 7 22 91 2 101
1996 7 0 7 61 7 23 91 1 99
2001 8.3 0.0 8.3 60.1 4.9 26.0 91.0 0.7 100
2005 10.7 0.0 10.7 57.6 4.4 26.4 88.4 0.9 100
2009 13.5 3.7 17.2 49.8 4.7 27.6 82.1 0.8 100
Glas. Prestwick 2005 3.6 20.8 24.4 57.2 12.5 5.2 74.9 0.7 100
2009 11.3 30.1 41.4 41.2 6.0 8.9 56.1 2.3 100
Inverness 1990 7 0 7 62 15 15 92 1 100
1996 6 0 6 57 17 17 91 3 100
2001 4.0 0.0 4.0 56.3 17.1 20.8 94.2 1.8 100
2005 4.9 0.0 4.9 60.5 17.9 14.4 92.8 2.3 100
2009 9.5 2.2 11.7 56.3 17.9 12.0 86.2 2.2 100

Source: Civil Aviation Authority - Not National Statistics

1. The CAA surveys collected statistics only for the airports shown in the table.  These results are based on a departure survey only. The CAA's assumption, for weighting purposes, is that arriving and departing passengers share the same modal characteristics

2. Airports are shown only for the years for which figures are given in the CAA survey reports for 1996 (which also gives earlier years' results), 2001, 2005 and 2009.

*. The figures for 1996 and earlier years may appear not to total 100% because they were rounded independently and then given only as whole percentages.

Table 8.16  Origins/destinations of terminating passengers: 20091 
Aberdeen Edinburgh Glasgow Glasgow Prestwick Inverness Total
 thousands 
Borders 3 180 10 5 0 198
Central 7 581 249 61 0 898
Dumfries & Galloway 1 23 68 37 0 129
Fife 6 850 144 30 1 1,031
Grampian 2,086 128 131 56 106 2,507
Highlands & Islands 46 96 108 49 446 745
Lothian 6 5,777 293 169 0 6,245
Strathclyde 25 513 5,721 1,269 4 7,532
Tayside 95 567 237 73 1 973
Total all Scottish areas 2,275 8,715 6,961 1,749 558 20,258
England & Wales 11 115 53 49 2 230
All passengers2 2,286 8,830 7,014 1,798 560 20,488

Source: Civil Aviation Authority - Not National Statistics

1. The CAA survey collected statistics only for the airports shown in the table.  

2. Terminating passengers are those who arrive at or depart from an airport by surface means of transport.   As explained in the Notes and Definitions, their numbers are not the same as the numbers of terminal  passengers: the latter also include transfer passengers (people who change aircraft at an airport).