Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) has published its latest annual report and accounts for the financial year 2023/24.
Against a backdrop of increasing financial pressures, a strategic direction to reduce costs, increase commercial revenue and develop new revenue streams has returned an annual outturn of £3.6 million below the annual grant from Transport Scotland.
During the year, HIAL received a public subsidy of £50,689,000 including revenue funding of £38,221,000 and capital funding of £11,812,000 which was supplemented by £656,000 of capital loan funding for commercial activities.
HIAL maintained a steady passenger base with just under 1.5 million passengers across all 11 of its airports, representing an increase of 3.5% in passenger figures compared to the 2022/23 financial year. However, despite the increases over the past two years, passenger numbers still sit at almost 12% below the pre-pandemic levels of 2019/20.
The continued funding and support from Transport Scotland has allowed HIAL to deliver a capital programme of over £12 million to improve airport infrastructure. This was spread across all airports and ranged from the expansion of the terminal building at Barra to the runway resurfacing and rehabilitation project at Islay.
Lorna Jack, HIAL chair, said: “The financial position for the public sector is challenging and shows no sign of abating. We will continue to focus on generating commercial income while reducing costs”.
“To that end, I want to commend all our colleagues for their efforts in allowing us to be successful in our efforts so far while maintaining the high level of customer service for which our people are renowned.”
The Annual Reports and Accounts are available in English and in Gaelic