The Show Must Go On! Why the Edinburgh Fringe Festival relies on UK airways

Over more than 70 years, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has showcased thousands of weird, wacky and witty performances. Founded back in 1947, it is now the world’s largest arts festival. Every August the city’s streets are filled with performers, buskers and living statues while the theatres are packed out with show after show from some of comedy’s biggest stars.

In this one-month alone, a staggering 450,000 comedy fans will see more than 50,000 performances of 3,000 different shows across 300 venues. 

People come from far and wide to both view and participate in the festival – and getting everyone safely into the city, including on average over 400 flights a day, is a mammoth task. But it’s one that the team of air traffic controllers at NATS’ Prestwick air traffic control centre are committed to playing their part in, managing flights across Scotland’s airspace, as far south at the East Midlands and out into the North Atlantic.

So, to celebrate the role our air traffic controllers play in our day-to-day lives, we’ve been having lots of fun asking a new airspace related question every Monday for the last six weeks – giving two lucky winners the chance to take home £250 each week. 

This week is no different as we celebrate the competition’s half way mark with a question inspired by the fun of the Fringe:

How many flights arrived and departed Edinburgh Airport during this year’s Fringe Festival? 

You can answer on NATS’ Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts – and remember to come back on Monday 10th September, when we’ll be announcing the winner. 

Don’t forget to include the hashtag #SkyByNumbers in your answer.