ALMOST 740,000 passengers travelled through Glasgow Airport in September, an increase of 5.6% on this time last year.

International traffic was up 9.7%, with many passengers making a dash for some late summer sunshine.

European destinations including Rome, Faro, Malaga and Alicante proved popular along with long-haul routes such as Dubai and Toronto services.

Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: "It is very encouraging to be able to continue our trend of passenger growth by reporting such positive figures for September.

"It is also significant that domestic traffic has returned to growth, with Flybe taking over the East Midlands route previously served by bmi Regional.

"Following strong performances by easyJet and Jet2.com in September, both airlines will provide even more choice in the coming weeks - easyJet continuing its flights to Palma and Jersey, and Jet2.com adding flights to Lanzarote."

The figures come just a day after the Evening Times revealed how Glasgow Airport was gearing up for one of the busiest weekends of the year as families jet off for the October school holidays.

More than 100,000 passengers are expected to use the hub between Friday and Monday heading to places such as the Canary Islands, Turkey and Florida.

The airport has also recently reported a successful summer with pas-senger traffic in June, July and August up 3.6 % on 2011.

The growth in numbers has continued since the turn of the year.

The launch of Emirates' second daily flight to Dubai in June cemented Glasgow Airport's reputation as Scotland's long-haul airport, while a number of other airlines have added new routes and additional capacity.

ewan.fergus@ eveningtimes.co.uk