HIAL passengers up 3%
05.05.08
The number of passengers flying in and out of airports in the Highlands and Islands reached a record high last year, according to figures released today. A total of 1,270,023 people used the 10 airports operated by Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) in 2007, a rise of 3% on the previous 12 months.
The figures reveal that the busiest airport was Inverness with 703,371 passengers. However, Wick reported a fall in the number of travellers passing through and is down from 32,691 to 26,428, a drop of 19.2%. Sumburgh Airport on Shetland saw 13.3% and 64,639 passengers used Dundee Airport (which transferred to HIAL in December) in the 12 months – an increase of almost 22%.
Inglis Lyon, managing director of HIAL, said: ‘The vital role played by air transport in our region and the commitment of airlines to enhancing services have seen passenger demand increase and our airports handle record volumes of traffic in the past year.'
‘Increases to frequency and capacity on routes operated by Loganair have been a significant contributory factor to the growth. At Inverness, the withdrawal of the Liverpool and Heathrow services slowed growth for the year. However, new Flybe services this spring and holiday flights to Spain and Jersey this summer will see traffic develop over the next 12 months.'
‘Meanwhile, at Dundee, Loganair will launch Belfast and Birmingham services this month and a new Sumburgh - Bergen service in June, so there are a number of positive developments coming on stream in the current year.’
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