Work to massively increase the size of the immigration hall at Edinburgh airport commenced this week. The new development will take about three months, with a large part of the new hall opening for passengers at the end of October.
Edinburgh has seen international passenger numbers rising three-fold over the last ten years. The Airport offers direct flights to 25 countries, with over two million international passengers arriving each year, more than half these flights arrive from Spain, Ireland, Germany and France. The current international arrivals figure compares to just 700,000 ten years ago.
Edinburgh Airport Managing Director, Gordon Dewar said,
..."This growth, combined with the additional checks that are required following the 9/11 and 7/7 terrorist attacks, has placed considerable pressure on the immigration hall. This is why we have already taken a number of steps to increase the hall's capacity, including a 50% increase in the number of available desks earlier this year. However, given the growth in passenger numbers at the airport, it is right that we press ahead with increasing the overall size of the immigration hall to ensure our international passengers can pass through the airport as quickly and securely as possible.
"It is inevitable that a major three month project of this kind will cause some disruption to the normal operation of the immigration hall and I would want to apologise in advance to any passengers who are affected. We are working closely with the UK Border Agency, airlines and others to try and minimise that disruption and ensure the immigration hall operates as smoothly as possible over the coming months."
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