Aberdeen International Airport (AIA) was more profitable during 2015 than the year before, despite the north-east’s oil and gas woes.
Last year’s rise in pre-tax profits to £28.9million, from about £26million in 2014, followed a change of ownership for the Granite City gateway.
But turnover fell to £63.4million, compared with £64.53million previously, as passenger figures took a battering from the oil price slump.
A total of 3.5million travellers used the terminal last year, a 7% drop from 3.2million in 2014.
Passenger numbers for domestic and international services were down by 8.1% and 4.3% respectively.
The financial performance was revealed in accounts released by Companies House yesterday.
Summing up the year under review, AIA managing director Carol Benzie said: “The lower domestic passenger levels were driven by reduced load factors across typical oil and gas-related flights.
“London traffic also declined as a consequence of the removal of Virgin’s Heathrow route.”
Mrs Benzie said helicopter business fell away, while the overall total was also impacted by a reduction in the number of rotations to Frankfurt.
She added: “Non-EU traffic loss was driven by the reduced passengers across Scandinavian routes, which are typical oil and gas destinations.”
Design work for AIA’s £20million terminal transformation project, new aircraft stands and taxiway resurfacing accounted for £4.7million of capital costs last year.
Other statistics revealed in the accounts include a punctuality rate of 89.1% of aircraft leaving within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure time – up from 88.8% the year before.
AIA is now owned by AGS Airports, a partnership between Ferrovial and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, which acquired the terminal as well as the airports in Glasgow and Southampton from Heathrow Airport Holdings in a £1billion-plus deal in late 2014.
There was no response to an approach for comment on Aberdeen’s 2015 financial figures.
