Aberdeen Airport has doubled its controversial drop-off charge to £2, just over a year after it was introduced.

The announcement came as it revealed the number of people travelling through the airport has fallen 14% over the last year to 245,000.

Domestic traffic has fallen by around 19%, with international traffic showing a slight dip of 1.7%.

A spokesman for Aberdeen Airport said the decision to double the drop-off charge was made in a bid to reduce congestion in the forecourt as the airport undergoes a £20m revamp.

The length of time cars can wait in the drop-off zone has increased from ten to 15 minutes.

"The drop-off charge was introduced to ease congestion and manage the traffic flow in what is a restricted area," the spokesman said.

"Over the coming weeks and as part of our £20m investment programme, there will be a significant increase in construction traffic using our lower forecourt.

"This will significantly reduce capacity in this area and, as a result, we will be encouraging passengers use the car park.

"These measures will allow us to continue to provide a safe environment for passengers and all our customers during this time and beyond."

Taxi drivers were initially forced to pay the fee for dropping off passengers themselves but councillors agreed to allow them to pass the surcharge to customers from June 2015.

Some taxi drivers claimed they spent as much as £400 on drop-off fees in five months.

Work to double the size of Aberdeen Airport's terminal and create two new passenger lounges is expected to begin next month. The airport's baggage claim and security areas will also grow.

Managing director Carol Benzie said: "Given the performance of the wider economy we fully expected a challenging start to the year, however, we have continued to work hard on providing passengers with more choice by securing new routes and I remain encouraged by our international traffic.

"There is a real opportunity for leisure capacity in Aberdeen and airlines such as Icelandair and Wizz Air have already demonstrated their confidence in the market with launch of important new routes.

"Both Thomson and Flybe will follow suit in the coming months during which time we will make real progress on our £20m investment programme.

"We have completed the initial preparatory works and our temporary baggage reclaim facilities will go live in May when construction works on the new 5800sq m extension will get under way."