The £41 million Edinburgh Gateway train-tram interchange station was opened earlier this month on the airport’s east side with two 265- metre 10-car platforms.

The new station offers direct services to both Edinburgh and Fife, and means travellers from as far away as Perth, Dundee and Inverness can access the airport directly.

Erik Geddes, communications manager, said: “It further widens the choice and means by which passengers from across Scotland can get to Edinburgh airport.

“At the moment we’re really well served from the city of Edinburgh but this links us up into Fife and further up into the north and east of Scotland.

“It is now much easier for people beyond the central belt to access Edinburgh airport.”

Gordon Robertson, director of communications at Edinburgh airport, added: “This station will plug Edinburgh airport into the national rail network making it easier for passengers across Scotland to access our connections and importantly, for the millions of visitors who pass through us to have a speedy and efficient onward journey.”

The new station comes as the airport reported not only its own record passenger numbers in November, but a record for all Scottish airports, with 860,966 passengers reported following an increase of 8.3%, Geddes said.

He added that the increase in passenger numbers was largely driven by the international market, which saw 19.6% year-on-year growth compared with fairly flat domestic figures.

Geddes believed this was mainly down to the many new routes introduced to the airport in 2016 – Jet2.com has launched 11 new routes this year while Vueling has launched three since introducing Barcelona at the back end of 2015.

He said: “What’s interesting is the passenger mix. Beyond London airports we have the best mix of inbound and outbound passengers of about 45% versus 55% respectively. Our success points to the strength of Edinburgh as a destination for both business and leisure.”