Aberdeen Airport has confirmed it will re-brand itself as Aberdeen International as it seeks to expand its operations.

The change comes after its parent company dropped the name BAA and allowed its individual airports to operate more independently.

BAA said in October last year it would drop the brand as it no longer reflected the operations of the company.

As a result Heathrow, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports are all seeking to carve new niches for themselves.

Aberdeen International hopes the new moniker will help it expand its roster of destinations - particularly for holidaymakers.

Airport managing director Derek Provan told the BBC: “This is an exciting time for the airport and for our customers.”

Passengers

In December Aberdeen confirmed it enjoyed a near five per cent growth in passenger numbers during November, with both domestic and international traffic posting strong growth.

Latest figures show the number of passengers using Aberdeen Airport increased by 4.8 per cent on November 2011.

Domestic traffic numbers enjoyed the strongest growth, up by 9.1 per cent.
International passenger numbers grew by 7.2 per cent and the number of helicopter passengers fell by 13.4 per cent.

Provan said: “It is encouraging to see domestic and international traffic growing at such a strong rate.

“The launch of new flights to London City and Bristol are a welcome addition to Aberdeen’s domestic route network and will help support business and tourism links between the north-east, London and the south-west of England.”