There is much good news for Scotland’s airports in data released this week by the UK Civil Aviation Authority.

The numbers, covering the first quarter of this year, show further strong growth in passenger numbers at Edinburgh Airport.

This is perhaps not surprising, given the momentum of this airport for many years now, interrupted only by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Civil Aviation Authority observed that Edinburgh Airport had one of the highest passenger growth numbers in the UK in the opening three months of this year. The figures show 3,362,906 passengers travelled through this airport in the first quarter, up 7% on the same period of last year.

This strength is in line with the confidence expressed by Gordon Dewar - who is due to step down as chief executive of Edinburgh Airport later this year - in an exclusive interview with The Herald in March.

Mr Dewar revealed his expectation at that stage that passenger numbers this year would be “well ahead” of the record 16.98 million figure for 2025 and flagged a host of new route opportunities.

He said the “only caveat” to this forecast for passenger numbers would be around the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, noting things could be “potentially different” if this proved protracted.

In the interview, he also flagged a slew of possible long-haul and short-haul destinations for new routes from Edinburgh.

Mr Dewar highlighted potential opportunities for flights to Malaysia, Singapore, India, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, the Caribbean and the west coast of America as well as to the likes of parts of France not currently served, including ski resorts.

He declared: “The sky's the limit.”

The Civil Aviation Authority........

© Herald Scotland