Information on Edinburgh Airport



Edinburgh International Airport started its life as Turnhouse Aerodrome, it was the UK's most Northernly British Air defence base in World War 1. The base opened in 1915 with a grass air strip and the home of 603 squadron (City of Edinburgh). The Royal Air Force was formed in 1918 and the airfield became RAF Turnhouse. The MoD owned the airfield until World War II broke out, then it became the property of fighter command and a new 3,900ft paved runway was put in place to handle the Vickers Supermarine Spitfires. The airfield remained under the control of the military after the end of the war and by the late 1940s commercial services started to fly from Turnhouse. In 1947 Vickers Vikings started flying on services between Edinburgh and London for British European Airways later they were to see Viscount and Vanguard series aircraft on this route. In 1952 a 6000ft extension was added to the runway to cater for Vampire FB5s and in 1956 improvements were made with a new passenger terminal, this was to be extended five years later. 1960 saw the airport transfer from the MoD to the Ministry of Aviation and in 1971 BAA took over the airport and built a new runway that enabled the airport to take all modern airliners, alongside this came a new terminal. Improvements continues and in 2005 a new air traffic control tower was built costing £10m and standing 57 metres tall.  More than five million passengers pass through the terminal per annum travelling to 56 destinations Worldwide and there are 30 daily flights to London's five airports.

Edinburgh International Airport is 8 miles (12km) West of the City

You can get to the airport by Bus or Private Taxi Transfer. Booking a Private Taxi Transfer also takes the stress out of traveling from the airport as you will be met in the arrivals hall by your own Private Cheauffeur and taken to your destination.

City of Edinburgh plays host to the Edinburgh Festival held over four weeks from early August, namely the Edinburgh Fringe, Edinburgh Comedy, Edinburgh International, Edinburgh Military Tatto and the Edinburgh Book Festivals. The Hogmanay Stret Party (31st December), Burns Night (25th January), St.Andrew's Day (30th November), and the Beltane Fire Festival (30th APril) are also held in the City. Every year Edinburgh attracts over 1 million visitors making it the most visited tourist destination in the UK behind London.

Theres plenty to see and do in the city from Edinburgh Zoo, museum of Scotland, the Royal museum, National Library of Scotland, National War Museum of Scotland, Museum of Edinburgh, Museum of Childhood, Royal Society of Edinburgh, National Gallery of Scotland, Royal Scotish Academy, Scotish National Gallery of Modern Art, Scotish National Portrait Gallery, not forgetting Edinburgh Castle,   plus plenty of nightlife in the following clubs, The Honeycomb, Cabaret Voltaire, Luna, The  Liquid Room, Studio 24, CC Blloms and GHQ.

Two football teams share the City Hibernian (Known as Hibs) and Heart of Midlothian (known as Hearts), the Edinburgh Monarchs speedway team race at the Lothian Arena Armadale, West Lothian and were crowned Premier League Champions in 2008.

Edinburgh is twinned with the following Cities around the World.

*Aalborg - Denmark.
*Dunedin - New Zealand.
*Florence - Italy.
*Kiev - Ukraine.
*Munich - Germany.
*Nice - France.
*San Diego - USA.
*Vancouver - Canada.
*Xi'an - China.
*Ordu - Turkey

And Partners with the following Cities.

*Krakow - Poland.
*Kyoto - Japan.


Airline and Destinations.



*Aer Arann to Cork, Galway.
*Aer Lingus to Dublin.
*Cityjet to London City, Paris Charles de Gaulle.
*bmi Regional to Brussels, Copenhagen, Leeds/Bradford, Manchester, Zurich.
*bmibaby to Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands.
*British Airways to London Gatwick, London Heathrow.
*BA CityFlyer to London City.
*Loganair to Inverness, Isle of Man, Kirkwall, Lerwick, Sumburgh, Stornoway.
*Cimber Air to Billund.
*Clickair to Barcelona (Seasonal).
*Continental Airlines to Newark.
*Delta Air Lines to New York JFK.
*Easyjet to Alicante, Amsterdam, Belfast International, Bristol, Dortmund, Geneva, Krakow, London Gatwick, London Luton, London Stansted, Madrid, Milan Malpensa, Munich, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Paris Charles de Gaulle.
*Flybe to Belfast City, Birmingham, Cardiff, Exeter, Manchester, Newquay, Norwich, Rennes, Southampton.
*Flyglobespan to Alicante, Barcelona, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Faro, Funchal, Geneva, Ibiza,
Malaga, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Pula, Rome Fiumicino, Sharm el Sheikh, Tenerife South, Toronto Hamilton.
*Germanwings to Cologne/Bonn.
*Jet2.com to Avignon, Chambery, Dusseldorf, Ibiza, La Rochelle, Mahon, Murica, Olbia, Pisa, Prague, Toulouse, Venice.
*KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Amsterdam.
*KLM Cityhopper to Amsterdam.
*Lufthansa to Frankfurt.
*Norwegian Air Shuttle to Oslo.
*Ryanair to Alicante, Berlin Schonefeld, Billund, Bournemouh, Bratislava, Bremen, Dublin, Frankfurt Hahn, Grenoble Lyon, Krakow, Lodz, Malaga, Marseille, Palma de Mallorca, Piza, Poznan, Shannon, Stockholm Skavsta, Turin, Weeze, Wroclaw.
*Scandinavian Airlines System to Copenhagen, Stockholm Arlanda.
*Sterling Airlines to Copenhagen, Stockholm Arlanda.
*Wideroe to Bergen.


Charter Airlines.

*Air Transat to Toronto Pearson.
*BH Air to Bourgas, Varna, Plovdiv.
*Eurocypria Airlines to Lanarca, Paphos.
First Choice Airways to Faro (Seasonal).
*Iberworld to Las Palmas, Madrid, Tenerife South.
*Karthago Airlines to Monastir.
*Monarch Airlines to Alicante, Dalaman, Faro, Fuerteventura, Las Palmas, Palms de Mallorca, Paphos, Reus, Tenerife South, Zakynthos.
*Ornur Air to Bodrum, Dalaman.
*Thomsonfly to Palma de Mallorca (Seasonal).

Cargo Airlines.

*Atlantic Airlines to Coventry
*DHL to East Midlands
*Exin to Aberdeen.
*Jet2.com to East Midlands, London Stansted.
*Titan Airways to Bristol, London Stansted.
*UPS/Star Air to Cologne, East Midlands.

Take the strain out of getting to and from the airport by booking your airport taxis through us at www.TaxiTransfers4U.co.uk and rest assured there will be no need to worry about finding our driver when you arrive, even if your flight is delayed there won't be a problem as the driver will be keeping an eye on the flight arrival time, after landing and collecting your bags our driver will be waiting in the arrivals hall with a welcome board with your name on it, where he/she will meet and greet you and help you with your luggage before taking you onto your designated destination.

Please remember to confirm all your flight details before leaving for the airport and to insure you have all your documentation for your trip. Taxi Transfers 4U wish you a pleasant journey and hope to see you in the future.