Thousands jet off from Glasgow airport as summer holidays begin

Glasgow Airport is preparing for its busiest period of the year with more than 500,000 passengers expected to pass through the terminal in the next two weeks.

On Friday alone, around 30,000 passengers took off to sunshine hotspots like the Canary Islands, Greece, Turkey, and Dubai.

City-break destinations expected to be busy this summer include Barcelona, Dubrovnik, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome and Dubai, while the two new easyJet routes to Lisbon and Porto are proving popular with passengers travelling through Glasgow.

Additional staff will be on hand at peak times over the next few weeks to provide help and support to passengers as they prepare for check-in and security.

Ronald Leitch, Glasgow Airport’s operations director, said: “The recent great weather will hopefully have ensured our passengers travelling through the airport over the next fortnight are in the holiday spirit.

“There is always a great atmosphere in terminal, particularly as the school term has come to an end and thousands of families arrive at the airport ahead of their holidays.

It comes as staff at the airport employed by OCS Group to assist passengers with mobility issues are set to strike for 24 hours twice during the peak summer season.

The workers, members of Unite, rejected a previous pay offer by 96% which would have taken basic rates to £10.90 per hour but are yet to receive another offer from the company.

Around 70 staff will now strike between 4am and 3.59am on July 6 and 7 and a week later on July 11 and 12.

Their duties include assisting passengers with wheels chairs and ambilift vehicles for travellers setting off on their holidays.

A Glasgow Airport spokesperson said: “Discussions between special assistance service provider OCS and Unite are ongoing.

“We are speaking with OCS to ensure contingency plans are in place so that those passengers who require additional support are not affected by any proposed industrial action.”