Airports to Use for Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Anyone who’s traveling to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from far away will no doubt immediately search for flights to Edinburgh, assuming flying into the city named in the festival title is your best and only option. It may be the most convenient airport to fly into, but it’s definitely not the only choice you have – and when you’re hunting for the cheapest airfare you can find, having more choices is always a good thing.

Here are the airports you might want to consider when you’re looking for cheap flights to Edinburgh for the Festival Fringe. With any of the airports listed below, it’s a good idea to look at what it would cost to book your trip directly to that airport from your home airport – but don’t stop there. Also look at flights into other major European hub airports – like London, Dublin, Paris, or Amsterdam – and then look for cheap flights into Edinburgh (or the other airports listed below) from there.

You may find an excellent deal on a flight into one of those other major European hubs, and because there are so many budget airlines in Europe you stand a good chance of finding a great deal on a short flight from there to Edinburgh or Glasgow or one of the other airports listed below. The things to keep in mind when you’re considering this option are that it does require more planning on your part, since you don’t have one ticket taking care of all your flights, and you’ll also want to take into account the cost of any ground transportation you need to incorporate into your plan. If the cost of the ground transport outweighs the savings of flying into a different country, then it’s probably not worth the hassle.

>> The 2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe runs from 3-27 August
>> Check this Scotland travel guide for more information, too

Edinburgh International Airport

The main airport in the city of Edinburgh – Edinburgh International Airport (EDI) is obviously the most convenient option if you’re flying to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, but finding cheap flights to Edinburgh may not be easy from where you’re based. Edinburgh’s airport is one of the main international entry points in Scotland, and some of the budget airlines with service to Edinburgh are bmibaby, easyJet, Flybe, Jet2.com, and Ryanair. In fact, both easyJet and Ryanair have large bases at Edinburgh. From North America, there are flights to Edinburgh on Air Transat and Continental.

Glasgow International Airport

Glasgow is the other major international entry point for visitors to Scotland, and Glasgow is home to two airports – although one of them is “Glasgow” in name only, as it’s quite a ways outside the city. Still, if your destination isn’t Glasgow itself, it can be a good option. And getting cheap flights to Glasgow is always easier when you can look at fares into two airports.

Glasgow International Airport (GLA) is 13km from Glasgow and about a 95km drive to Edinburgh. Some of the budget airlines that fly into Glasgow International are easyJet, Flybe, Loganair, and bmibaby – and there are flights to Glasgow International from North America on Air Transat, Continental, and US Airways. In addition to the option of driving from the airport into Edinburgh, you can also take a train.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport

The other Glasgow airport is called Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK), which is more than 50km from the city of Glasgow (it’s located near Prestwick, hence the airport name). The primary reason you might find more cheap flights to Glasgow Prestwick (depending where you’re flying from) is that this is the Glasgow airport used by European budget airline Ryanair. Other budget airlines with service to Glasgow Prestwick are Flybe and Wizz Air.

Getting from Glasgow Prestwick Airport to Edinburgh is more than 130km of driving, but there are also public transportation options directly from the airport – including the train and buses. In fact, Prestwick has its own train station, so you wouldn’t even have to take a shuttle or bus into Glasgow’s main train station before continuing your journey to Edinburgh.

Newcastle Airport

Located in northern England, the Newcastle Airport (NCL) is also an option worth looking at if you’re flying to the Festival Fringe (especially on a budget airline from elsewhere in Europe). The airport is 11km north of the city, but since you’ll want to be going north after you land in Newcastle that’s not so bad. It’s about 190km of driving to get to Edinburgh from the Newcastle airport, and you can also take the train between the two cities.

Some of the budget airlines that make it possible to find cheap flights to Newcastle are: easyJet, Jet2.com, Flybe, and Ryanair. Air Transat sometimes offers direct flights from Toronto, but that’s it for North American departures straight to Newcastle.

Aberdeen Airport

Aberdeen is home to one of Scotland’s busiest airports – aptly named Aberdeen Airport (ABZ) – although the majority of the traffic in and out is for business, not pleasure (the city has long had a thriving oil industry). Still, having a busy airport means that finding cheap flights to Aberdeen isn’t as difficult as you might expect when you consider that it’s not a popular tourist destination. It’s more than 200km from Edinburgh, so that’s not a short drive, but it’s easy to get on a train in Aberdeen to get to Edinburgh.

Some of the budget airlines that fly in and out of Aberdeen are: easyJet, Flybe, Loganair, and Ryanair. There are no direct flights to Aberdeen from North America, so you’d have to fly into a different European hub first.

photo by www.theedinburghblog.co.uk