Edinburgh Turnhouse Airport (EDI) Flights & Flight Status

Edinburgh Airport (EDI) serves the capital of Scotland and is smaller than the country’s main international airport at Glasgow. Located just 6 miles west of the city center, it’s compact and convenient with good local transport links via tram and bus.

Most European network airlines (including British Airways) offer connections from EDI to their main hubs, while easyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair offer many direct flights across Europe and the Mediterranean.

There’s a good range of long-haul service too, including those from Delta, Emirates, Hainan, Qatar, Pegasus, Turkish, United, Virgin Atlantic and WestJet, although some of these are seasonal.

Arriving in Edinburgh Airport

The relatively small terminal at EDI makes arriving a breeze. If you’re coming from overseas, you’ll go through passport control first.

If you have a passport from the UK, EU, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland or the USA, you’ll be directed to the line for the UK Border Force biometric eGates. Other nationals need to see an agent in the separate line. Look for the signs to the designated lines.

Passport control lines at EDI are pretty average for the UK, which means they can be either long or short depending on how many flights arrived just before yours or if the eGate system has gone down. My top tip: Visit the restroom before you land in case the line is really long.

After passport control you’ll collect your baggage – airline handling agents are here in case there’s any issue –then exit into the arrivals area, where you’ll find ground transportation outside the terminal.

Departures and security lines at EDI

All check-in areas are in the main terminal zone and are lettered A through D. It’s small enough that you don’t really need to check in advance which one your airline uses – you’ll be able to see once you get inside. Desks open anywhere between 2 hours and 4 hours before your flight. Check with your airline, but the airport has a handy guide as well.

Security is upstairs, but before you head up you might want to stop off at the M&S Simply Food minimart from Marks & Spencer. It’s a little pricey, but the best place in the airport to pick up a meal to go, with both sandwiches and salads. You’ll still need to go through security, so make sure any liquids, creams or pastes are under 3.4 ounces – that includes things like humus and other dips.

Lines can be long during peak morning and evening hours, but there’s a helpful live security wait time tracker on the homepage of the airport website. There’s a fast-track security option, which most passengers in business class are eligible for as part of their ticket. It can also be purchased separately from the airport.

Unlike most other European countries, there’s no outbound passport control in the UK. Once you’re through security and the duty-free maze, you’ll find most shops and restaurants in the central terminal area between gates 4 and 12, with a few more in the section between gates 12 and 16.

If your flight uses gates 1 through 3 or 17 through 29, know that these gates don’t have many shops or eateries so make sure you have what you need before heading to the gate.

Getting to and from EDI by public transit

Edinburgh Airport is well served by local public transport, but all the stops are outside in the open air so I always make sure I have a waterproof coat easily reachable at the top of my bag when I arrive at the airport. To get into the city, use the tram or the bus – both take about the same time but the bus is a bit cheaper.

Taking the tram

For travel further afield within Scotland and elsewhere in the UK, I find the train is the best plan. The widest variety of train options are available at the main Waverley station in the very center of the city, accessible via the tram or airport buses. Edinburgh Gateway, just a couple of tram stops from the airport, is much more convenient but offers fewer train options.

Tram tickets are available online and from vending machines at every tram stop. There’s a special set of airport tram tickets that include a good discount for your return trip, as well as multi-day tickets for the city zone that include a single airport return trip.

If I’m planning to use the tram a lot, those are the ones I pick. Otherwise, the airport return is the best value. The tram starts running at 6:26 am and the last tram is at 10:48 pm, with local buses your best option outside those times.

Buses from the airport

Local city and suburban buses run frequently from outside the terminal and can be really useful if you’re heading somewhere a good distance from the tram line. Local buses leave from lettered stops outside the terminal. Most are run by local operator Lothian Buses, and you can pay for these buses with your contactless credit or debit card when boarding.

The Airlink 100 and the Skylink 200

The Airlink 100 leaves from stop A and takes a central route that’s roughly similar to the tram but stops fewer times, and goes past Murrayfield stadium and Haymarket Station towards the main Waverley station. There’s also the Airport Express run by Midland Bluebird, which makes fewer stops and can be faster to the city center. The easiest ticketing option here is the Midland Bluebird app.

The Skylink 200 leaves from stop B and serves the northern side of the city, including the Ocean Terminal and Leith. The Skylink 400 leaves from stop C and travels around the southern side of the city to Fort Kinnaird – it’s less likely that this will be useful for visitors unless you’re staying in the area. Night bus versions of both these routes operate (N200 and N400).

Coaches and rental cars

Long-distance buses (called “coaches” in the UK) leave from the coach park area, and run to many parts of Scotland, including Glasgow, Dundee, Stirling, Aberdeen, Oban and Fife.

If you’re driving elsewhere in Scotland, Edinburgh Airport is in a great location to get to and from much of the country, and you don’t need to drive through the city center to get to it. Most international rental car companies have offices at the airport but remember that most UK cars are manual (standard) transmission, and that many automatic rental cars are now electric.

I advise against renting an electric car in the UK. The country doesn’t really have the electric charging infrastructure to make renting an electric car convenient for visitors.

How to get to and from Edinburgh Airport by car

There’s a taxi stand outside the terminal with metered black cabs of the style that you might normally associate with London. Uber also operates in Edinburgh, and the pickup area is in the parking garage opposite the terminal. I find a taxi is usually the best option, especially if traveling with others or with a lot of luggage.

Lounges and free Wi-Fi at Edinburgh Airport

Edinburgh Airport has 4 lounges – the British Airways lounge, the Plaza Premium lounge, and 2 Aspire lounges.

The British Airways lounge near Gate 4 was spruced up at the end of 2023 and is available to business class passengers and certain frequent flyers. It’s a nice enough space with some good whiskies available and Champagne on request but can get busy at peak times.

The Plaza Premium lounge in the area near Gate 16 is very good. It’s large, with a variety of seating areas and an impressive Edinburgh Gin bar. It’s well worth the entry fee if you’ve arrived to the airport early, in my opinion, and certainly if you happen to have certain American Express cards that allow you free entry.

The 2 Aspire lounges are located near the other lounges, near Gate 4 and Gate 16. Both are fairly compact, but the Gate 16 lounge is newer and nicer than the Gate 4 lounge. The Gate 16 lounge is part of the Priority Pass network, but its small size means that you’ll usually be turned away unless you’ve prebooked for an extra fee.

Free Wi-Fi is available throughout most of the airport, though it may not stretch as far as the bus and tram stops.

Souvenirs from Edinburgh Airport

Whisky is an obvious choice for souvenirs and gifts from Edinburgh, but you’ll find good prices and a wider selection in town, though you’ll need to pack it in checked luggage. Otherwise, the World of Whiskies inside the duty-free store offers hundreds of varieties, mostly larger names.

Non-drinkers will enjoy Scottish shortbread biscuits, and these often come in tartan-motif tins that are useful for all sorts of things around the house. Tablet, a sort of crumblier fudge, is a must-taste Scottish confectionary for anyone with a sweet tooth.