EasyJet is to place a ninth aircraft at Edinburgh airport as it expands its presence in Scotland. The additional aircraft will provide extra capacity as the budget carrier plans to operate 39 routes next summer from the Scottish capital. UK country manager Ali Gayward said: “Nearly three decades ago we launched the airline with services from London Luton to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

“Twenty-seven years on, Scotland remains an important focus for EasyJet and we continue to see opportunity in Scotland, which is why we are delighted to be adding an additional aircraft to our Edinburgh airport base to serve even more customers in Scotland next summer.”

Edinburgh airport aviation director Kate Sherry said: “The continued expansion of EasyJet at Edinburgh airport shows the strength that the Edinburgh market has, as well as the confidence that one of our closest airline partners has in Scotland’s busiest airport. “The industry’s recovery is still ongoing and this additional based aircraft will sustain the positive trajectory that we have seen at Edinburgh.

“The launch of the summer programme comes at a great time as we move into the winter and we begin to think about that summer holiday and dream about the sunshine and the beach.” It will join two 156-seat Airbus A319s and six 186-seat A320s based in Edinburgh. More than 14,000 flights to and from Scotland are planned as part of the airline’s summer 2023 schedule, which went on sale on Thursday. The airline, which also operates from Aberdeen, Glasgow and Inverness airports, will serve more than 45 destinations from Scotland next summer.