Aberdeen International Airport (AIA) recorded its fourth consecutive month of passenger growth yesterday, but said the industry still faced challenges.
The north-east aviation hub was one of the fastest-growing terminals in the UK last month after a 6.8% rise on the same period last year, with 335,631 passengers passing through its doors.
Airport bosses said there had been growth in both fixed-wing and helicopter traffic, but added that the coming months would still not be easy.
The terminal is expected to handle hundreds of thousands of passengers again next month with the return of the Offshore Europe exhibition; when the event was last held in the Granite City two years ago, passenger numbers rose 11.3%.
A spokeswoman for the airport also said that despite the latest strong figures, aviation was “still not out of the downturn”.
Carol Benzie, AIA’s commercial director, said: “This growth is very welcome and we are in a good position with seven months of the year under our belts. We recognise that the coming months will likely bring challenges for our sector and our airport specifically, however, we are well placed to deal with them.
“We are coming towards the end of the busy summer holiday period, a lucrative and popular time of year for passengers heading off for some family sun.”
Meanwhile, Scotland’s busiest airport handled more than a million passengers for the first time last month.
Edinburgh Airport said nearly 1.1million people passed through the terminal in July after a 13.1% rise.
Chief executive Gordon Dewar said the milestone was partly down to a culture shift at the airport since it was sold by BAA to Global Infrastructure Partners for £807million.
He added: “Handling over a million passengers in a month is difficult and it has been challenging.
“We’ve had the equivalent of the population of Stirling through our doors every day.
“It’s a challenge we relish and we’re looking forward to being challenged in this way on a regular basis.”
Glasgow Airport reported its busiest July in five years, with more than 832,000 people arriving or departing from the terminal. The figure is up 5.4% on the same month last year.
Highlands and Islands Airports said yesterday it had appointed Gillian Bruton, formerly of Polaroid Eyewear, as finance director.
She succeeds Norman Ross, who left the firm earlier this year to join whisky business Gordon and MacPhail.
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