Second runway and further terminal extension in Edinburgh Airport’s 2050 vision
But new access road by 2029 uncertain
Edinburgh Airport’s £500 million terminal expansion is just the start of a huge transformation of the airport which could ultimately include a second runway.
Under the current five-year project, the terminal will be enlarged by 60 per cent, but a second extension is envisaged by 2050.
A new long-term airport development masterplan is due to be published “soon”, according to officials.
The existing one, produced ten years ago, includes a new parallel runway built to the north, while the current south east terminal extension would be complemented by another to the north east.
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The UK government, which is responsible for airports, said in 2003 that land should be safeguarded for a second runway, which it envisaged would be required around 2020.
However, the airport masterplan said it was unlikely to be required before 2040.
The current expansion is due to increase the capacity of the terminal - which is expected to handle a record of nearly 18 million passengers this year - to 30m.
A second phase will include creating a traffic-free plaza at the front of the terminal, an enlarged check-in area and more shops before security.
However, officials have acknowledged that will be tricky. They said: “It is really complex in terms of reconfiguring everything in front of the terminal”.
A direct link to the M8 in the masterplan has been ditched because of improved public transport links, including direct bus routes stretching as far as Inverness and Oban. Services to Edinburgh city centre and Fife operate round the clock.
Some 40 per cent of passengers travel by bus or tram - the highest proportion at a UK airport without a rail link.
The airport plans to submit a revised planning application for a new access route from the Gogar roundabout to the east by the end of the year after a previous one was rejected by the City of Edinburgh Council.
Airport officials previously said the scheme - to reduce pressure on the sole access via congested Eastfield Road - would be completed in 2029, but it has since declined to confirm that.
Meantime, the airport continues its 15-year quest to follow Dublin in opening a “pre-clearance” facility that would enable United States-bound passengers to clear immigration and customs checks before taking off.
Officials said there was already space for it in the terminal, but agreement is still awaited between and US and UK governments.
Of more immediate concern to passengers is the prospect of having to pay more to fly.
Increasing oil prices due to conflict in the Middle East have triggered warnings from airlines such as Ryanair - Edinburgh’s biggest - that air fares will rise.
Airport chiefs also fear the Scottish government will increase air taxes when it takes control of air passenger duty from the UK government in April.
Ministers have already signalled a rise for private jets. Rates for air departure duty, as it will be called, are due to be announced in next month’s Scottish Budget.
Two thirds of passengers said more expensive air travel would affect their ability to go on holiday, with almost a third saying it would have a significant impact, according to a survey published this week by Airlines UK, which represents carriers.
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