Passenger numbers up

PASSENGER numbers at Sumburgh Airport last year rose by nearly 14 per cent thanks to oil and gas industry movement and competition between Flybe and Loganair.

A total of 386,039 people flew through the airport in 2017 – an increase of 46,948 on the previous year.

In September Flybe went into competition with Loganair on routes connecting Shetland with Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The lower fares initiated by Flybe are said to have increased passenger footfall before it pulled out in January.

Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) managing director Inglis Lyon said a record number of passengers across Scotland as a whole represented a “positive economic outlook”.

Earlier this month HIAL confirmed its intention to get rid of air traffic control towers at airports including Sumburgh in favour of a remote digital system.