Scotland's official regional airport operator Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) has reported a 38.7% year-on-year increase in passenger numbers for 2022/23.
The 11 HIAL airports have seen traffic return to 85% of pre-pandemic levels, the company said, with almost 1.5 million passengers recorded over the 12 months to March 2023, half of them via Inverness Airport.
According to HIAL, which is owned by the Scottish regional government, "there were significant increases at Inverness (up by 63.5% to 750,235 passengers), Dundee (+59.2% to 41,127 passengers), Stornoway (+29.1% to 103,856 passengers), Kirkwall (+13.3% to 127,915 passengers) and Sumburgh (+10.2% to 303,704 passengers)".
The figures "reflect well on the huge effort made by our airline partners to maintain service levels throughout the recovery period", said HIAL's outgoing managing director Inglis Lyon.
“Many of the routes from HIAL’s airports provide essential connectivity for the communities they serve and increasing passenger numbers will help to ensure that this connectivity is maintained into the future," said Kevin Stewart, the Scottish transport minister.