Argyll airports buck passenger trend

CAMPBELTOWN and Islay have been revealed as two of the few under-performing Highland airports.

According to figures released last week, the pair, run by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL), both saw numbers drop in the first and second quarters, from April to September 2016, compared to last year.

That was in stark comparison to HIAL’s overall performance, that saw more than 900,000 passengers pass through its air ports for the first time over the same period.

Campbeltown airport’s numbers dropped from 5,342 to 5,071, a notable decrease of 5.1 per cent, while Islay’s dropped 1.3 per cent, from 18,067 to 17,829.

A spokesperson for Argyll and Bute Council said: ‘We have no concerns regarding the number of passengers recorded at airports in Argyll and Bute, and indeed welcome the 21 per cent increase seen at Tiree.

‘We continue to monitor passenger numbers closely and plan to meet with HIAL in the near future to discuss trends and see what we can to do together to attract additional passenger and visitors.

‘There are many factors that can influence passenger numbers and HIAL made specific reference to the inclement Scottish weather as a contributory factor for the five per cent decrease at Campbeltown.

‘On Islay, a reduction in the number of scheduled flights contributed to the small reduction in one per cent of passenger numbers.

‘The availability of other modes of transport, such as ferries in the case of Islay, may also be a factor.’