Edinburgh Airport is embarking on a new journey under the management of a French company that is renowned as the largest private airport operator in the world.
The new owner, Vinci, is investing in an airport business that has made a strong recovery from the pandemic. The airport anticipates reaching record passenger numbers this year and aims to grow by another third in the next six years.
Vinci, which is found in Paris and owns 70 airports globally, including London Gatwick and Belfast International, has confirmed the acquisition of a 50.1% stake in Scotland’s busiest airport for £1.27 billion. This means that the value of Edinburgh airport has more than tripled in the 12 years since its ongoing co-owner, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), purchased it for an astonishing £807 million.
The British Airports Authority (BAA) paid a lot of money when it took several airports, like Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Glasgow, along with Heathrow and Gatwick London. Now these airports are highly profitable assets for major investment companies and actively compete for business. This is different from the past, when BAA limited competition and didn’t allow the airports to grow as much.
