Behind the scenes of Edinburgh Airport with the man who makes sure it doesn't all go wrong

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With almost 16 million passengers a year and more than 160 routes, Edinburgh Airport is a busy place. One of its major operators is flag carrier British Airways, with 24 flights between the Scottish capital and London every day.

James Birch, BA’s airport manager for Scotland since June 2024, is overseeing 800-plus departures from Edinburgh this summer, with his role ranging from supporting check-in colleagues to managing the airline’s renovated lounge and ensuring flights leave on time.

We asked James – originally from Blackpool and who is also responsible for the airline’s operation at the airports in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness – to take us through a day in the life of an airport manager…

“My days are usually structured around my priorities at the time, and these can change week to week.” James explained. “On some days I could be checking customers in at 4am for our first departure of the day, and on night shifts I could join the team on the ramp (the area of the airport where aircraft are parked before departure and after arrival) to greet the arrival of our night-stopping aircraft at10pm.”

On its busiest days, BA checks in a large volume of customers at its desks in Edinburgh. James said: “We have such a high volume of flights and customers passing through the Scottish capital every day, which is why we refer to Edinburgh as the ‘JFK of short-haul’.”

Although his role varies, James tries to spend a few hours at check-in first thing each morning. Whether it is printing boarding passes at 8am, tagging luggage, or checking travel documents, he is always on hand to provide extra support to the team at the recently modified dedicated British Airways check-in area.

“My role is to be on site to support our customers and team members, and I don’t leave the airport until everyone has been served,” he said.

“Meeting our customers is often my favourite part of the day.” The airline has a new dedicated check-in area at the airport. When customers have checked in and dropped their bags, they can breeze through security to airside, complete with 30 gates. For many customers, their flight to London is just the beginning of their summer journey, as many travel onwards to other destinations across British Airways’ network when they reach Heathrow.

Whether it is Nashville or Nairobi, Berlin or Bermuda, the airport manager is responsible for delivering on-time departures and driving great customer experience. Although every departure is important for James, there are some flights that are ­particularly exciting.

“We worked with Dreamflight last October to send flights from Edinburgh and Glasgow to London providing an opportunity for seriously ill and disabled children to have the holiday of a lifetime,” James said. “From London, 192 children flew to Orlando in Florida, and had an unforgettable trip. Everyone was excited, and being part of this amazing project was one of the highlights of my year.”

At around noon. James heads through to the lounge, where he spends time working with the team to ensure customers have a seamless experience.

Before boarding the plane, passengers travelling in Club Europe (short-haul business class) and eligible British Airways Club members are invited to use the British Airways lounge, opposite Gate5.

With a fresh, brighter look, the lounge was refreshed last year, and offers elevated levels of comfort.

“We want our customers to feel at home when they visit the lounge in Edinburgh,” said James. “Recently we introduced a dedicated lounge team, so our regular customers will see familiar friendly faces to help them in the airport. “On Burns Night, we even offer a bespoke whisky tasting class.”

Towards the end of the day, James spends time talking to the turnaround and gate teams, who make sure the last British Airways flights of the day get away on time. While customers sip on local whiskies and enjoy bespoke treats in the lounge, James and the team are busy on the ramp and at the gate, preparing the aircraft for departure.

He explained: “When an aircraft arrives, we have just 40 minutes from the parking brake being applied to turn the aircraft around and send it back to London. We have to ­disembark arriving customers, unload their bags, refuel and tidy the aircraft, and then board the departing customers and their bags, and make sure the aircraft doors are closed five minutes before the scheduled departure time.

“It’s really important for our flights to depart on time and my role is to help the team achieve this.”

An essential part of the Airport Manager role is building ­relationships with staff across the airport, from the cabin crew and refuellers to the gate team and ramp agents.

“I recently celebrated 10years of working with British Airways,” said James. “I started as Heathrow-based Cabin Crew in 2015, and later led a team of 94 senior crew members as Customer Excellence Manager. This has given me a good understanding of our company and its people, which helps me to bring everyone together so we can all contribute to on-time departures.

After an early start, James heads home at 5pm. At the airport, the team continues working until 8.30pm, when the last British Airways flight departs from Edinburgh. For British Airways’ Edinburgh airport team, their work for the day has finished. And it all starts again tomorrow…

British Airways flies between London and Edinburgh from £38 one-way. Visit ba.com/edinburgh