Turkish flights launched from Aberdeen

Aberdeen Airport is set to run services to Turkey for the first time in its history from June 4th.

Tour operator Scottravel is set to fly to Dalaman twice a week until late July, with extra services in the pipeline if it proves a success.

An Aberdeen Airport spokesman told BBC News: "This is the first time passengers will be able to fly from Aberdeen to Turkey and that is fantastic news."

Aberdeen Airport is one of BAA's seven UK airports and traffic has soared there in recent months.

Figures released by BAA Scotland last month showed Aberdeen had experienced the largest increase in traffic of all of BAA's UK airports.

Passenger traffic at Scotland's third biggest airport increased by a massive 10.6 per cent last month compared to the previous year.

The airport handled 314,000 flyers more in March 2007 than it did in 2006, with an increase in international travellers of 18 per cent and a rise in domestic flights of seven per cent.

Aberdeen Airport, which opened in 1934, features in the UK's top ten airports for the number of flights it runs.