Edinburgh Airport vs Palma de Mallorca Airport

Overview

Scotland's busiest airport — single terminal, tram to Edinburgh city centre in 30 minutes, and growing long-haul via Emirates, Qatar, and United.

Scotland's international hub

Edinburgh handles Scotland's intercontinental traffic — Emirates to Dubai, Qatar to Doha, United to Newark, and seasonal North America routes supplement a dense European network on easyJet, Ryanair, Jet2, and BA.

For UK travellers north of the border, EDI avoids the Edinburgh–Heathrow positioning flight that adds cost and time. Compare MAN (/airports/manchester) for northern England connectivity.

Tram and ground transport

Edinburgh Trams run from the airport stop to York Place in the city centre every 7–10 minutes, taking ~30 minutes. Taxis and Uber operate from signed landside pick-up zones.

Allow extra time during Edinburgh Festival (August) when passenger volumes spike.

Overview

The Balearics' primary airport — Europe's busiest leisure hub in summer with dense Jet2, TUI, easyJet, Ryanair, and BA schedules from across the UK. UK visitors now clear Schengen EES biometrics here.

UK leisure traffic

Palma handles more UK passengers than almost any other single Spanish airport in July–August. Jet2 and TUI package holidays land here alongside low-cost scheduled carriers.

For Ibiza, allow ferry or connecting flight time from PMI — do not assume same-airport transfers.

EES biometric border checks

Since October 2025, UK passport holders normally complete Entry/Exit System biometrics when arriving in and leaving the Schengen area. At a high-volume leisure gateway like PMI, that means more landside time than pre-Brexit stamp-and-go — especially when several inbound banks arrive together.

Use FlightLogic’s buffer checklist at /guides/eu-ees-border-checks-uk-travellers/. Do not confuse EES with ETIAS — the online authorisation is still not open to apply.