Boom time for region's airports
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AIRPORT chiefs are celebrating after passenger numbers in the Highlands jumped 7.4 per cent in a year.
Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) said more travellers than ever before are now using its 11 sites, which include Inverness Airport.
Nearly 1.8 million people passed through its airports in the financial year to the end of March – a rise of more than 122,000.
And Inverness Airport was responsible for 38 per cent of that increase after seeing its passenger numbers increase by almost 47,000.
HIAL said the rise "further illustrated the airport’s popularity and increasingly important role as a driver for the Highland region and economy", adding that the continued success of its Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol flights had helped to boost numbers to 875,873.
And those figures look likely to rise in the coming months, with both Loganair and TUI set to introduce new routes from Inverness in the coming months to destinations including Majorca and Bergen.
HIAL managing director Inglis Lyon said: "Overall, the past year has been another of significant growth in passenger figures across the HIAL group, this highlights the customer demand for our air services and the continued support and connectivity they provide for communities."
Mr Lyon said passenger numbers could have been even better, but the severe weather experienced in the UK as the so-called ‘Beast from the East’ arrived resulted in many of the country’s airports closing due to the snow. He added that this had a knock-on effect on flight traffic to airports including Inverness.
He said: "We are constantly looking at ways to attract additional business and continue to invest in our airports to further improve services and add new routes."
The company’s annual results for 2017/18 will be announced later in 2018.
