Aberdeen International Airport (AIA) suffered a 7% slump in passengers during 2015 as the north-east economy felt the blow of lower oil prices.
Bosses at the Granite City gateway said yesterday the December total was down by 14.1%, compared with a earlier, at 243,259 travellers.
It took the latest annual figure to just over 3.5million, down from a record total of 3.76million in 2014.
AIA managing director Carol Benzie said: “Clearly, 2015 was not without its challenges as there is a direct correlation between our passenger traffic and the performance of the wider economy and the oil price.
“Despite the impact on helicopter and energy-related traffic, our international passenger traffic, particularly in the latter part of 2015, has been showing an upward trend.
“This is a result of our efforts to further develop our route network, which was bolstered in June 2015 with the arrival of Wizz Air who launched the first direct flights between Aberdeen and Poland.
“Following the success of its Gdansk service, Wizz will launch direct flights to Warsaw in May this year and we can also look forward to Icelandair’s new, year-round service to its hub in Reykjavik which takes off in March.”
In addition, Flybe is introducing a new service from AIA to Newquay and Thomson will take off for Gran Canaria this summer.
“Our focus for 2016 will be to build on this success and work with our airline partners to strengthen Aberdeen’s connectivity,” said Mrs Benzie, who took over the airport hotseat in October 2013.
Operations at the start of 2016 have been hampered by a damaged runway amid all the torrential rain and flooding which has hit the north-east.
Flights are back to normal again after a hole opened up on the tarmac.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh Airport enjoyed a record year in 2015 as more than 11million people flew to and from the capital, an increase of 950,000 on 2014.
Glasgow Airport also reported an all-time best and its largest ever annual rise in passengers after welcoming more than 8.7million people last year – a rise of 13%.
And London Heathrow – awaiting a UK Government decision on possible expansion – was used by nearly 75million people last year in a record 12 months for Britain’s busiest airport.