HIAL today (Monday 6 June) published its corporate plan setting out its development priorities for the next 10 years.

Key targets for HIAL, which operates 10 airports in the north and west of Scotland, are to increase passenger numbers, develop new air routes and services, and to make strategic investment that will deliver the greatest outcomes for the region as a whole while providing the safe operation of its airports to regulatory standards.

HIAL is responsible for providing airport infrastructure, facilitating lifeline air links, developing new air traffic, supporting economic development and social inclusion in Scotland’s more remote communities. Its 10 airports range from the region’s principal hubs at Inverness, Kirkwall, Stornoway and Sumburgh to those at Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Islay, Tiree and Wick. The company is wholly owned by Scottish Ministers and has an annual turnover of more than £30 million.

In 2004/05 the airports handled 1,015,000 passengers, a 9% increase on the previous year, and almost 83,000 aircraft movements. Passenger volumes ranged from Tiree with just over 6,000 passengers to Inverness, which handled 565,000 passengers. The total number of passengers using the airports was 30% higher in 2004/05 than five years ago as a result of route development and service enhancements in the region’s air network.

The key aims set out in the new corporate plan include:

• To operate airports in support of economic and social development.
• • Supporting existing levels of scheduled air connectivity, including lifeline and welfare services.
  • Working with airlines and other stakeholders to develop new scheduled air services and improved air connectivity.
• To use resources efficiently to achieve continuity or enhancement of service.
• • By prioritising outcomes with the greatest benefits for the region.

• To promote the vital role of aviation in the region in terms of:
• • Transport connectivity and strategy.
  • Economic, social and environmental sustainability.

The corporate plan also sets out the main outcomes that HIAL seeks to achieve for the communities of the Highlands and Islands in the years ahead. These include:

• Sustained growth in the total number of passengers using the 10 airports.
• • The development of Inverness airport to reach one million passengers per annum by 2010.
  • Minimum growth of 4% per annum at Kirkwall, Stornoway and Sumburgh airports.
  • Total passenger growth of 10% per annum for the 10 airports.
• Enhanced scheduled air connectivity for the region, including:
• • New cross-border and international services at Inverness;
  • Additional intra-Scotland frequencies on air services serving the region;
  • Direct air links between Scandinavia and Kirkwall and Sumburgh airports and between Sumburgh and the Faroes.

• The realisation of other commercial opportunities within the airport network, including the development of Inverness Airport Business Park.

Commenting on the Corporate Plan, HIAL’s Chairman Sandy Matheson said: “Air travel is the only means of transport which provides quick access to key regional centres within the Highlands and Islands and to the rest of Scotland, the UK and internationally for business, leisure and social welfare travel. This is why the airports’ development is vitally important to the region’s transport network and to the communities and businesses they serve.

“HIAL has delivered significant benefits for the region over the past decade, including new air routes and frequencies, improved airport infrastructure and enhanced services for our airline customers and passengers. This plan reflects our strategy of focussing on outcomes that contribute towards a sustainable and vibrant Highlands and Islands characterised by economic development and social inclusion,” said Mr Matheson.

Inglis Lyon, HIAL’s Managing Director, said: “Our strategic priorities of achieving passenger growth, new routes and more frequency on existing air services are clearly set out. This clarity will be the catalyst for innovation, dynamism and development within the company.

“Our airports play a vital economic and social role in the Highlands and Islands; enabling communities and businesses to prosper through an effective network of scheduled air services that serves their transport needs. Creating more and better air links are goals we share with the Scottish Executive and strategic partners including HITRANS and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. By working together we will identify and implement the most effective solutions to achieve these goals,” said Mr Lyon.

Copies of the Corporate Plan are being distributed to HIAL’s regional stakeholders including MSPs, MPs, local authorities, the Highlands and Islands Enterprise network and private sector business organisations. A PDF of the corporate plan can also be downloaded from the www.hial.co.uk website via the http://www.hial.co.uk/corporate-plan.html web link.

ENDS