EDINBURGH Airport achieved its busiest February on record in spite of cancellations caused by the “Beast from the East”, which brought freezing temperatures and heavy snow.

The airport yesterday noted the Beast from the East, which arrived at the end of last month, had forced the cancellation of services, mostly domestic flights.

Edinburgh Airport announced a 4.3 per cent year-on-year rise in overall passenger numbers in February, to 846,502. Domestic passenger numbers were, at 366,013 last month, down by 6% on February 2017. International passenger numbers, at 480,489 in February, were up 13.4 per cent on the same month of 2017.

Chief executive Gordon Dewar attributed the jump in international passenger numbers to new routes and a “huge influx” of French fans for the Six Nations rugby international at Murrayfield.