Strong demand for flights to the islands drove up passenger number at north airports in the three months to June 30.
Highlands and Islands Airports, (Hial), which operates 10 terminals in the Highlands and islands plus another in Dundee, said 366,244 people flew to and from its sites during the quarter – nearly 8,000 more than a year earlier.
All of the island airports saw growth, with Barra leading the way – up 22.1% to 3,139 passengers.
Shetland’s Sumburgh Airport was ahead nearly 14% at 78,836, thanks to higher demand for scheduled services and continued growth in energy industry-related travel.
Inverness had a more modest increase, up 0.1% at 166,159, with Hial reporting increased demand for flights to Amsterdam, Belfast, Birmingham, Manchester and the islands.
But two of Hial’s airports saw hefty falls, with Wick John O’Groats suffering a near-40% decline to 8,482 and Dundee down almost 28% at 5,432.
Passenger numbers at Campbeltown fell 4.6% to 2,482.
Hial said the slump at Wick John O’Groats was the result of a decline in short-term helicopter business.
Dundee continued to be affected by a cut in services to London, with a new twice-daily weekday service to Stansted still in its infancy.
Hial managing director Inglis Lyon said: “It is very encouraging to see our smaller island airports driving growth across the group.
“The increased demand for island services is particularly good news for those local communities and underlines the role our airports play supporting the economic growth of these areas.
“The energy sector continues to drive growth at Sumburgh, where Hial is investing in improved facilities.”
He added: “The launch of a tender process to build two new aircraft to serve Barra, Campbeltown and Tiree is further good news for the long-term future of air routes for these communities.
“Growth at Inverness was relatively modest during the quarter, but with increased capacity planned on existing Birmingham and Manchester services, both of which are proving increasingly popular as long-haul connecting hubs, and new services to London City and Dublin due to begin in October, we are confident that demand will grow.”
Among Hial’s other airports, Stornoway’s passenger figures were up by 6.3% at 34,306 as demand for services to the mainland increased.
Benbecula attracted an additional 717 passengers, a 9.1% increase, while Kirkwall in Orkney saw a 2.2% rise to 48,184.
The airports on Tiree and Islay were up by 9.5% at 2,540 and 3% to 8,089 respectively.