Monday 5 October 2026
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Sumburgh Airport passenger numbers up again

Flights from airports in the Highlands and Islands are exempt from air passenger duty (APD).

THE NUMBER of passengers travelling through Sumburgh Airport in 2016 was up by 6.1 per cent on the previous year.

A total of 335,169 people used the airport last year, an increase of 19,186 compared to 2015.

Much of the rise was due to flights related to the oil and gas industry, while there was more offshore traffic too.

Figures show that Sumburgh was the second busiest airport in Highlands and Islands Airports Limited’s (HIAL) portfolio, with Inverness enjoying the highest number of passengers.

A total of 1,606,168 travellers used HIAL’s 11 airports in last year, which was an increase of over 150,000 passengers.

HIAL managing director Inglis Lyon commented: “This clearly illustrates the value of our services to the communities they serve and proves there is strong demand for ever greater connectivity to and from the Highlands and Islands.”

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