Edinburgh Airport is so “filthy” it compromises Scotland’s international reputation, a leading Scottish chief executive has said.
After a negative experience at Scotland’s busiest airport, Francesca Osowska, chief executive of the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), took to social media to express her disgust.
“Another top class performance by @EDI_Airport,” she began sarcastically.
“Arrivals hall is filthy, toilets dirty and despite the Porto flight arriving before the Dubai flight, guess which bags were delivered first? Another one hour + wait for bags.”
The former triathlete, who was awarded an OBE for services to government and the Commonwealth Games in the Queen’s New Year Honours in January 2015, added: “‘Where Scotland meets the world’. What must the world think?” she finished.
A second X user agreed with Ms Osowska’s comments, writing: “The Arrivals Hall at EDI is an embarrassment.
“Filthy, industrial, uninviting, soulless, chaotic, impersonal. I could not agree more. Please don’t ask me about the road link in or the £5 drop off charge!!”
And a third added: “And the trek to passport control and the lengthy queues there add to the terrible experience for international arrivals. A national embarrassment.”
Baggage handling and other ground services are outsourced to contractors who work with airlines and are not provided by the airport.
In response to the comments, a spokesperson for Edinburgh Airport told The Independent: “Constructive feedback is important. We survey more than 50,000 of our passengers every month, and those scores are overwhelmingly positive.
“But, as with any business or organisation – including ones in the public sector like the Scottish Funding Council – we know we won’t always get it right.
“The complex nature and range of partners involved in airport operations are often misunderstood. While it’s easy to share personal frustrations in 240 characters, it’s not as easy to explain those intricacies.
“We’re happy to engage constructively and offer clarity wherever we can.”
The Independent has reached out to Edinburgh Airport for comment.
Ms Osowska’s comments come just days after a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) report named Edinburgh Airport as “needing improvement” in the accessibility assistance offered to passengers with reduced mobility (PRM).
The transport hub was marked down for failing to meet “the standards for the provision of assistance in a timely manner”.
The CAA said this was “primarily due to operational issues caused by a change of contractor for its service provider earlier in the year”.
A spokesperson for Edinburgh Airport said: “As the CAA’s report states, this rating was given to the airport during a particularly challenging time for our PRM operation, due to a change of provider, staff shortages, and a surge in demand for the service.
“Our goal remains to return to and maintain a ‘good’ or ‘very good’ rating.”
