Inverness Airport was named Scottish Airport of the year at this month’s prestigious Scottish Transport Awards.
Inverness Airport Manager, Graeme Bell, said: “This award is a real vote of confidence for Inverness Airport and we are delighted to have been named Scottish Airport of the Year. We were up against strong competition from both Glasgow and Edinburgh Airports, but with new routes and record passenger numbers, Inverness Airport continues to go from strength to strength. The Airport is a key player in the economic growth of the region and local economy, with increased connectivity providing Highland customers and businesses with better transport links. We stand in good stead for an even busier year in 2017.”
New figures for the financial year to March, 2017, highlight that leading regional airport operator Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) has recorded a 15.4% increase in passenger numbers at its 11 airports across Scotland. The record breaking figures show a total of 1,658,423 customers used HIAL airports during the twelve–month period, an increase of 220,798 passengers on the 2015/16 total.
The Inverness figures were up 23.5% with passenger numbers reaching 829,018 for the financial year, further illustrating the airport’s popularity and increasingly important role as a driver for the Highland region and economy. In addition to growth as a result of the airport’s Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol flights, all major routes from the city welcomed additional passengers. British Airways and its Oneworld partnership operates the Inverness-Heathrow route, with Dutch operator KLM and its SkyTeam partners operating the flight from Inverness to Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.