Inverness Airport named Scotland’s top terminal

Inverness Airport has beaten off competition from its bigger Scottish rivals to be crowned as the country’s top terminal.

The Highland gateway’s triumph in the 2017 Scottish Transport Awards (STAs) was hailed by general manager Graeme Bell as “a real vote of confidence”.

Mr Bell said: “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,” he added. Last year, Inverness Airport underlined its increasingly important role to the Highland economy with a record 796,854 passengers – a 17.4% annual increase.

Numbers were boosted by new flights to London Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol.

The revived daily flights between Inverness and Heathrow were recently hailed as a huge success, with 75,000 people using the service in its first year.

Over the past year, Inverness Airport has undertaken a series of improvements to the terminal and facilities.

Owner Highlands and Islands Airports has spent £900,000 on improvements to the arrivals area, departure lounge, retail outlets and catering offering.

The STAs recognise excellence, innovation and progress across all areas of transport in Scotland.

The 15th annual awards ceremony in Glasgow was attended by more than 370 industry professionals from Scotland’s transport sector.

Virgin Trains was named public transport operator of the year.

Stagecoach Group’s Jet 727 route between Aberdeen city centre and Aberdeen International Airport won the award for best bus service.

Aberdeenshire Council also won an award – the excellence in transport partnership gong – for its involvement in a smart ticketing scheme. And First Bus, part of Aberdeenbased bus and rail giant FirstGroup was honoured for its contribution to sustainable transport.