[6] Turnhouse Aerodrome was the northernmost British air defence base in World War I used by the Royal Flying Corps.

When the Second World War broke out, RAF Fighter Command took control over the airfield and a runway of 3,900 ft (1,189 m) was paved to handle the Supermarine Spitfire.

The first commercial flight to use the airport was a British European Airways service from London (Northolt) to Shetland, with Edinburgh and Aberdeen being intermediate stopping points.

[8] In 1952, the runway was extended to 6000 ft to handle the Vampire FB5s operated by the resident 603 Squadron, and an aircraft arresting barrier net was installed to protect traffic on the adjacent A9 road.

[citation needed] The net remained in place until the early 1970s and was used to stop one of the Ferranti Flying Unit Buccaneers which had overrun the runway.

A further use was in 1970 when a Meteor TT20, operated by the RN Fleet Requirement Unit, overran the runway and ended up in the net.

Flying was temporarily diverted to East Fortune, which had its runway extended to accommodate the airliners of the period.

[11] RAF Turnhouse was operational near the passenger terminal of the airport for all of the post-war period but was finally closed in 1997.

A new £25million expansion project involving the construction of a new 6,000 m2 building, housing a security hall and retail areas, was also completed.

In February 2016, consultancy firm Biggar Economics announced that Edinburgh Airport contributes almost £1 billion annually to the Scottish economy.

[24][25] In December 2024, Edinburgh Airport became the first in Scotland to record over 15 million passengers in a calendar year.

[120] The tram line also connects the airport to the nearby Edinburgh Park railway station.

The line from the airport travels eastwards through the western suburbs and the city centre of Edinburgh before heading north to Leith, eventually terminating at Newhaven.