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Edinburgh Airport is 7 miles west of the city center. Flights bound for Edinburgh depart virtually every hour from London's Gatwick, Heathrow, and City airports.

Airlines serving Edinburgh, Scotland's busiest airport, include Air France, Aer Lingus, American Airlines, British Airways, Delta Virgin, easyJet, Flybe, Iberia, Jet2, KLM, Lufthansa, and Ryanair.

Delta flies direct to Edinburgh from New York's JFK airport, while United flies direct from Newark. There are also direct flights from Boston and Washington, D.C., (Delta), Chicago (United), and Philadelphia (American). Otherwise, your airline is likely to require a change somewhere in Europe. You could also fly into Glasgow Airport, 50 miles away, or the smaller Glasgow Prestwick, another 30 miles south, but these will add about an hour and a half to your journey.

There are no rail links to the city center, so the most efficient way to do the journey on public transport is by tram; the service runs every 8 to 12 minutes and takes about half an hour. Tickets cost £6 one-way and £8.50 for a round-trip. By bus or car you can usually make it to Edinburgh in a half hour, unless you hit the morning (7:30 to 9) or evening (4 to 6) rush hours. Lothian Buses runs an Airlink express service to Waverley railway station via Haymarket that usually takes around half an hour, depending on traffic. Buses run every 10 minutes (every 30 minutes throughout the night); tickets cost £4.50 one way or £7.50 round-trip and can be purchased from the booth beside the bus. Local buses also run between Edinburgh Airport and the city center every 15 minutes or so from 9 to 5, and roughly every hour during off-peak hours; they are far cheaper—just £1.70 one-way—but can take twice as long.

You can arrange for a chauffeur-driven limousine to meet your flight at Edinburgh Airport through Transvercia Chaffeur Drive, Little's, or W L Sleigh Ltd, for upwards of £50.

Taxis are readily available outside the terminal. The trip takes 20 to 30 minutes to the city center, 15 minutes longer during rush hour. The fare is roughly £25. Note that airport taxis picking up fares from the terminal are any color, not the typical black cabs.

Airport Information

Edinburgh Airport. Glasgow Rd., Ingliston, Edinburgh, EH12 9DN. 0844/448–8833; www.edinburghairport.com.

Airport Transfer Contacts

Little's. 1282 Paisley Rd. W, Glasgow, Glasgow City, G52 1DB. 0131/334--2177; www.littles.co.uk.

Transvercia Chaffeur Drive. The Harland Bldg., Unit 6, Suite 19, Pilrig Heights, Leith, Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH6 5BF. 0131/555--0459; www.transvercia.co.uk.

W L Sleigh. Unit 11A West Craigs, Turnhouse Rd., Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH12 0BD . 0131/339--9607; sleigh.co.uk.