Edinburgh Airport strike causes delays and disruption

Today’s strike at Edinburgh Airport by public sector staff , including the UK Border Agency , is causing delays and disruption. The airport has said there will be  some delays at peak times for international passengers arriving at Edinburgh Airport . Delays will also occur for departing passengers due to disruptions at other airports. The airport has worked closely with UKBA on their contingency plans and formulating its own measures to support passengers as they arrive at Edinburgh.

The impact at Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports is expected to be far less severe than in London, where Heathrow’s chief operating officer has warned of 12-hour queues for passport checks at peak times.

London is more vulnerable to delays because it handles a larger volume of long-haul flights carrying non-EU citizens, who have to undergo more stringent passport controls.





Glasgow has one long-haul flight coming in on Wednesday, an Emirates service from Dubai, while Edinburgh has one flight arriving from Orlando via New York. Aberdeen has no long-haul flights.

Flights to and from Scotland are also vulnerable if the delays at passport control cause a backlog on the runway, as domestic UK services are cancelled to clear space for planes from overseas.