Scottish airport numbers soar despite Middle East turmoil

Ross Lydell, spokesperson from the Civil Aviation Authority, said the growth in passenger numbers in Scotland was generally higher than across the UK as a whole.

He added: “Demand for flying remains high, as Scottish passengers adjust their travel plans around global events.”

Destinations in southern Europe saw the biggest passenger growth with both Malaga and Faro seeing 13% increases.

Amsterdam remains the top destination, attracting 418,000 passengers, followed by Dublin which was visited by 378,000 Scottish travellers.

Next April, the Scottish government plans to replace the existing Air Passenger Duty (APD) with its own Air Departure Tax which will initially be matched with APD rates to provide some certainty for airlines and airports.

A private jet supplement will also be introduced as part of the changes, although this will not come into force until 2028.

Stop Climate Chaos Scotland has called for the new taxes to be “hefty”, particularly for private jet users, and it wants the money raised to be used to help cut emissions.