Highlands and Islands Airports Limited

The total number of passengers using airports in the Highlands and Islands increased by 5.6% in July compared to the previous year, according to figures published today.

All 10 airports in the region operated by Highlands and Islands Airports recorded year on year growth for the month with total passenger throughput reaching 130,119.

A total of 468,809 passengers have now used the 10 airports in the first four months of the 2008/09 operating year, a 1.8% increase on the previous year.

The fastest growing airports in the region over the past four months were Islay (+9.1%), Kirkwall (+9.7%), Stornoway (+8.5%), Sumburgh (+8.7%) and Wick (+14.2%).

Total aircraft movements for the four months increased by 4.8% to 38,972.

Inglis Lyon, managing director of HIAL, said performance for the year to date had been strong across the group.

“The first four months of this year have seen good performance on the scheduled route network serving the Highlands and Islands. Despite the challenging climate in aviation across the UK our airports have performed either on a par with or better than last year,” said Mr Lyon.

“The numbers of passengers travelling reflect the very important economic and social roles fulfilled by aviation for the communities our airports serve and the commitment of our airline partners to maintaining these links.

“The growth at Islay, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Sumburgh and Wick is very encouraging. Numbers at Inverness are slightly down to date on last year due to the withdrawal of the Heathrow link in March but the airport is having a very successful summer on both its scheduled services and holiday charters with July being its busiest month ever.

“We do, however, have to recognise that this winter will be a difficult one for airlines and airports across the country. The priority is to maintain our air links through the winter with comparable volumes of passengers to last year.” said Mr Lyon.