Wick John O'Groats Passenger Numbers Increase Again
15th November 2013
HIAL passenger numbers up by 10%.
The number of air passengers using Scotland’s regional airports grew by more than 10% last month.
Latest figures show that HIAL – which operates 11 airports across Scotland – recorded 127,137 passengers in October, an increase of 12,124 (+10.5%) on October 2012.
Sumburgh added 9,464 passengers in the month, the result of increased oil sector and scheduled traffic, while Inverness recorded an extra 2,968 passengers (+5.4%) following growth on the Amsterdam, Bristol, Birmingham, Gatwick and Manchester routes.
It was another strong month for Kirkwall, where passenger numbers grew by 1,545 as a result of higher demand for routes to and from the mainland and additional oil sector movements.
Growth was more modest at Wick John O’ Groats, with numbers up by 842.
Elsewhere, Campbeltown, Benbecula and Islay also reported an increased in passenger numbers.
However, numbers were down at Barra, Stornoway, Tiree and Dundee airports.
Inglis Lyon, Managing Director of HIAL said: “Across the group, we have added more than 60,000 passengers this financial year, much of it energy related but a significant proportion as a result of increased demand for scheduled routes, particularly at Inverness. With the number of visitors to Scotland up in the first half of this year, and a host of activities in 2014 set to place Scotland on the stage as a world class destination, we are confident that we can continue to attract more passengers through our airports.”
October passenger totals
• BARRA 626 (-26.3%)
• BENBECULA 3066 (+1.3%)
• CAMPBELTOWN 1058 (+12.2%)
• DUNDEE 2264 (-51.9%)
• INVERNESS 58256 (+5.4%)
• ISLAY 2539 (+1.5%)
• KIRKWALL 16104 (+10.6%)
• STORNOWAY 11808 (-1.2%)
• SUMBURGH 27553 (+52.3%)
• TIREE 725 (-10%)
• WICK JOHN O’GROATS 3138 (+36.7%)
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