Numbers at Sumburgh slide

PASSENGER numbers at Sumburgh Airport for the first quarter of 2016 were down by over five per cent compared to the same period last year.

A total of 60,962 people travelled through the airport between January and March.

This was a six per cent decrease from the 64,884 passengers in the same period in 2015.

Airport operator HIAL said the downturn in the oil and gas sector contributed to the decrease in numbers.

However, the number of passengers at Sumburgh Airport during the 2015/16 financial year was up by 0.2 per cent on the previous year.

312,061 went through the airport doors compared to 311,418 in 2014/15.

Across HIAL’s 11 airports, 1,437,625 passengers travelled in 2015/16 – an increase of over 6,000 from the previous year.