Dundee airport operator Highlands & Islands Airports Ltd is determined to fly high through adverse economic conditions by hunting down new business opportunities.
Publishing the company’s annual report and accounts on Monday, HIAL managing director Inglis Lyon said his firm had recorded an operating loss of £969,000 during the year, against a challenging economic backdrop and despite a 9% increase in passenger numbers.
And he insisted talks to bring in potential replacement services for the recently-axed Loganair-run flights to Belfast and Birmingham were ongoing.
Services from Dundee to Belfast City and Birmingham cease on December 2 after Loganair said low passenger numbers had challenged their viability.
Chairman Grenville Johnson added that the withdrawal of routes from Dundee was ”disappointing” but he was clear ”the commercial realities of aviation cannot be avoided”.
A number of HIAL airports, including Campbeltown, Sumburgh and Tiree, enjoyed double-digit growth, which helped push overall passenger figures up from 1,158,041 to 1,258,452 for the last year.
The number of aircraft movements from its airports, which also includes Inverness, Wick, Sumburgh and Kirkwall, increased from 116,930 to 127,805.
HIAL, which is wholly owned by Scottish Ministers and receives publicly-funded revenue and capital support totalling £26.7 million, spent more than £8.3m on infrastructure across its 11 airports during the year, including a £1m runway, taxiway and apron rehabilitation project at Dundee.
It said its £969,000 operating loss, was a ”significant improvement” on the previous financial year, when it recorded a £2.56m deficit. A £1m saving on winter operations helped reduce overall costs.