Edinburgh Airport
(Turnhouse Airport)

Edinburgh Airport
©2011 Gazetteer for Scotland

Located 7 miles (11 km) west of Edinburgh and 46 miles (74 km) east of Glasgow, Edinburgh Airport is one of seven in the UK operated by the denationalised British Airports Authority, BAA plc. The passenger terminal was opened in 1977 and handles annually more than 7.9 million passengers, who are served by 39 different airlines with over 112,000 air transport movements each year. It is said to be Scotland's fastest growing airport, and the terminal building has been subject to recent major extension and refurbishment (2000). Edinburgh Airport has three runways; the two main runways are 2560m (8399 feet) and 1828m (6000 feet) in length respectively. The much shorter third runway is used for small aircraft. The airport employs 2500 staff.

A dramatic new 57-m (187-feet) high air traffic control tower was completed in 2005 at a cost of £11 million and has become a notable landmark.

Turnhouse was originally a Royal Air Force (RAF) base, but began handling civilian traffic in 1947. The old terminal building, opened in 1954, located to the northeast and on the opposite side of the runway to the current terminal, is now associated with the cargo-handling and flying club facilities.

Edinburgh Airport has the International Air Transport Association (IATA) location code "EDI".

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