Airports across the north experienced a surge in total passenger numbers during the three months to June.
Eight of the terminals run by Highlands and Islands Airports (Hial) were busier than a year earlier.
But two, the airports at Sumburgh in Shetland and Stornoway on Lewis, suffered slight falls in their passenger numbers,
Dundee Airport was also down, by more than 7%, despite new flights taking off for London Heathrow.
Hial announced a 10.4% rise in the total number of people travelling to and from all 11 of its airports in the first quarter of its 2023-24 trading year. This continues an upward trend reported earlier this year.
The Scottish Government-owned network was used by 425,222 during the three months to June 2023, up from 385,196 a year earlier,
Hial said its latest total was 87.3% of the figure achieved four years ago, before the Covid pandemic.
Bigger passenger numbers delivering economic benefits, Hial director says
George Farquhar, airport operations director for the group, added: “Leading into what is a hugely important 2023 tourist season, the new figures are encouraging.
“With almost 1.5 million people having passed through our 11 airports across the Highlands and Islands (and Dundee) over the past 12 months, the economies in each of those areas will have benefited significantly from the added investment and spending they bring with them.”
Wick John O’ Groats Airport was used by 2,774 travellers during the latest period, a year-on-year increase of nearly 30% terminal recovers from a spell of very few flights.
Elsewhere in Hial’s network, Inverness Airport saw a 17.6% surge to 240,631 passengers as the global aviation industry continued to recover from Covid disruption.
Campbeltown’s terminal was up by 17.1% to 2,071, while the airports on the Hebridean islands of Islay and Tiree saw increases of 14.1% to 8,747 and 10% to 3,802 respectively.
There was a 7.1% jump in passenger numbers for Kirkwall, to 37,221.
Meanwhile, the terminals on Barra and Benbecula recorded increases of 4.7% to 3,953 and 4.4% to 8,280 respectively.
Stornoway fell by 0.3% to 26,788 and Sumburgh was down by 0.6% at 81,262. Dundee Airport’s latest total was down by 7.25 year-on year, at 9,688.
Essential connectivity
Many of the routes from Hial’s airports provide essential connectivity for the communities they serve. Growing passenger numbers help to ensure this connectivity is maintained into the future.
Hial started this month with an acting managing director at the helm. Aberdonian Stewart Adams, a former chief executive at Scottish airline Loganair, is in the hotseat until the airport operator appoints a permanent successor to former MD Inglis Lyon.