There has been a flurry of good news from airlines and holiday companies in the last few weeks as the post-pandemic tailwind for the overseas travel sector continues, writes Business Editor Ian McConnell.

And this will hopefully be good news for airports and consumers in Scotland.

The last few weeks have seen a further flurry of good news from airlines and holiday companies.

Amid the broader economic and geopolitical misery, or perhaps at least in part because of it, the demand for overseas travel remains buoyant.

Some questioned how long the tailwind would last as pent-up demand was unleashed in the immediate wake of the ending of those coronavirus pandemic restrictions which saw so many overseas travel plans put on hold, in some cases for years.

The good news, for the overseas travel sector and those employed within it, is that this fair wind has shown no signs of abating.

Airline and package holiday giant TUI last week demonstrated the continuing prioritisation of travel by households in what are very far from boom times in a general sense.

TUI reported its underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in the three months to December 31, the first quarter of its financial year, were at a record €77.1 million up by €26.3m on the same period of the prior year.

Among the positives highlighted by TUI was that its cruises segment benefited from “continuing strong demand” for its “differentiated cruise offering across both the UK and German cruise markets”.

The cruise division itself achieved record underlying EBIT of €82.3m in TUI’s first quarter, up by €34.1m on the same period of the prior financial year.

TUI said that its overall first-quarter group revenue was “stable” at €4.9 billion – or up 1.3% on a constant-currency basis – “reflecting robust demand” for its “diverse and comprehensive product portfolio across the business”.

Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at stockbroker........

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