Edinburgh airport - hotels needed

New requirements in the near future

Edinburgh airport will need 1500 new hotel rooms by 2013 says a new report being submitted to planners on Thursday.

In its Master Plan published in July 2006 Edinburgh airport owners BAA predicted that passenger numbers could reach almost 14 million by 2013, and as many as 26 million by 2030. The new hotels at Edinburgh airport will be needed to cater for the growing number of passengers using the airport.

The Scotsman newspaper has learned that the report recommends that 550 new hotel rooms will be needed near the airport by 2010, another 1000 by 2013, and a further 2100 by 2030. It says that around two-thirds of the rooms should be three or four star.

"We consider the need for additional hotel provision, both on airport and offsite, to be a key requirement to provide our growing number of passengers with a range of quality and choice," an airport spokesman told the Scotsman.

The convener of Edinburgh's planning committee, Councillor Jim Lowrie, told the newspaper: "Edinburgh airport is identified as a gateway to Edinburgh and Scotland. This report gives further evidence of Edinburgh's growing success and the need to manage that growth in a planned and structured way".

Passenger numbers at Edinburgh airport currently total around 8.8 million a year, and airlines flying from the airport include British Airways, bmi, easyJet, Flybe, Ryanair, Delta Airlines and Lufthansa. The airport believes a lot of the growth will come from international travel, and popular international destinations from Edinburgh currently include Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, Geneva and New York.

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