Edinburgh Airport: Business leaders brand state of Scotland's busiest airport 'embarrassing'

Chairman of Brechin City Football Club, Kevin Mackie, criticised the airport in a post on LinkedIn after a negative experience landing in Edinburgh.

His post read: “Last week, I returned to Edinburgh Airport landing at 01:20am and what greeted me well over 100 metres from passport control was frankly embarrassing.

“Is this really the first impression we want to give international tourists arriving in Scotland?”

He continued: “Worse still, the moment the plane doors opened, the experience turned into something resembling a gym workout mixed with an endurance challenge.”

“How on earth are we meant to welcome elderly international visitors when they’re forced to climb steep staircases, walk excessive distances, and navigate terminals where moving walkways exist only for departing passengers, not those arriving?”

It comes soon after chief executive of the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), Francesca Osowska, also took to social media to express outrage at the airport’s “filthy” toilets and arrivals hall.

She wrote on X: “Where Scotland meets the world. What must the world think?”

Mr Mackie’s post received over 2,000 reactions and more than 700 comments.

Andrew Murphy OBE, the Group Chief Executive of toy retailer TEAL Group, commented: “I travel through the airport twice every week and have done for the last 17 years.

“In the same time I've travelled through more than 50 foreign airports - the vast majority of which put Edinburgh (and Glasgow for that matter) to shame.

“Many of these airports are in countries with fewer resources than the UK. Airports seem to be a source of some pride for these places - whereas ours are an embarrassment.”

Another user called the airport a “shambolic introduction” to the capital city and said Scots feel “ashamed” about the first impression it might give to visitors from abroad.

A spokesperson for Edinburgh Airport said: "Constructive feedback is essential to our growth. Each month, we survey more than 50,000 passengers and act on that feedback, and we are proud that the vast majority of responses are positive. However, we recognise that there’s always room for improvement.

"Our infrastructure has evolved alongside our growing passenger numbers. We've expanded the terminal as needed, all while maintaining a busy and complex operation. Over the next few years, our terminal expansion plans will address many of those issues as we transform that infrastructure to prepare for future growth.

"Aviation is a team game and we work closely with a range of partners across the terminal, including agencies like Border Force, who manage specific areas. We all have a responsibility to ensure our operations are performing as well as possible and rectify issues where that isn't the case."

In June, Edinburgh Airport was given a ‘needs improvement’ rating by the aviation regulator after failing to meet the grade for assisting disabled passengers in a “timely manner”.

The Civil Aviation Authority said this was “primarily due to operational issues caused by a change of contractor for its service provider earlier in the year, which now appears to be resolved”.

In its response, Edinburgh Airport said the rating was awarded during a "particularly challenging time” and was now routinely meeting a “very good” standard.

Prestwick Airport was also rated as ‘needing improvement’ for assisting passengers with reduced mobility.

Edinburgh Airport is undergoing significant expansion. In May, its Chief Executive said a five-year programme of investment was underway as passenger numbers soared.

New aircraft stands, more flight departure gates and an expansion of the terminal’s south-east pier are among planned works.

The airport already hosts 37 airlines flying to 155 destinations. It handled a record 15.8 million passengers in 2024, and said it is expecting to top the record again this year.