AIRPORT officials in Glasgow are teeing up for two years of continuous growth.

It comes after Ryder Cup golf fans gave passenger numbers a major lift, and guaranteed the airport its 20th month of growth on the trot.

Almost 20,000 extra travellers used the terminal buildings throughout September compared to the previous year's numbers, and keeps the airport on course to achieve continuous growth -month by month - for two years come the end of January.

Airline bosses at Emirates, Icelandair, KLM, United and US Airways all reported an increase in demand.

Airport chiefs say the clash between Europe and America's top golfers wasn't the only reason last month's passenger figures almost hit 783,000, 2.4% more than in September, 2013.

Glasgow was also the host city to a number of major conferences which attracted thousands of delegates from around the world.

Airport boss Amanda McMillan said: "The Ryder Cup was hugely successful in attracting visitors from across the globe to Scotland, and we enjoyed a lift in passenger numbers as a direct result.

"It was no surprise that our US carriers, as well as Icelandair and KLM, all experienced an increase in demand, particularly for business class seats."

She added: "We made a very encouraging start to October with the welcome news Virgin Atlantic is to increase capacity on its Orlando service, and Canadian airline WestJet will further strengthen our long-haul connectivity when it introduces direct flights to Halifax, Nova Scotia, next year.

"We are also looking forward to welcoming Ryanair, which will start flying from Glasgow for the first time when it launches its new base at the end of the month."

It's been a sizzling summer for Glasgow Airport with the September statistics confirming its busiest summer in six years at a time, and the first ever flights in and out by Ryanair- they start later this week - are expected to generate more than 850,000 more travellers every year.

However, there were just over 5000 fewer passengers using domestic airlines last month, but the introduction of the Ryanair services, which include cheap shuttle flights to and from London, are expected to boost future domestic figures.

gordon.thomson @eveningtimes.co.uk