Airport
Edinburgh's International Airport (Turnhouse) is located 8 miles to the west of the city centre, on the A8 trunk road, and is the principal international gateway to the city, as well as the busiest airport in Scotland. It is owned and operated by Global Infrastructure Partners. The airport serves a wide range of domestic and an expanding number of European and transatlantic destinations, currently handling in excess of 9 million passengers per year. In 1991 over 2m passengers used the airport - this represents an annual increase in excess of 10%. Forecasts suggest that the number of passengers using the airport will further increase to nearer 26 million by 2030.
The main terminal building was built in 1977 by the Edinburgh architect Robert Matthew, and was substantially extended and modernised in the late 1990s. A £14m project to construct a new international pier, further increasing capacity, was completed in 2006.
A masterplan for the growth of the airport was published in May 2005 indicating that the main terminal building will need to be increased in size, new aircraft hangars, maintenance facilities, and cargo handling facilities will need to be constructed. The possibility of a second runway built on land to the north of the current airfield, has been mooted, to cope with the forecast growth in air traffic. A new air traffic control tower was opened in October 2005.
Currently the airport is connected to the city centre by a dedicated bus link operating from the main terminal building to Waverley Bridge. A new tram link from the airport to the city centre is currently under construction, and is due to commence operation in 2014.
Read more about this topic: Transport In Edinburgh
Famous quotes containing the word airport:
“Airplanes are invariably scheduled to depart at such times as 7:54, 9:21 or 11:37. This extreme specificity has the effect on the novice of instilling in him the twin beliefs that he will be arriving at 10:08, 1:43 or 4:22, and that he should get to the airport on time. These beliefs are not only erroneous but actually unhealthy.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1950)
“It was like taking a beloved person to the airport and returning to an empty house. I miss the people. I miss the world.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)