Passenger numbers at regional airports across Scotland have increased despite the recession.
Dundee Airport saw figures increase for the first time in 2012 by 1.8% in August.
Operators Highland and Islands Airports Limited's (HIAL) 11 airports handled 128,142 passengers in August — an increase of 0.3% on August 2011.
The group's busiest airport, Inverness, recorded growth of 0.5%.
Continued growth in the oil and gas sector boosted passenger numbers at Sumburgh, which recorded an increase last month of 4.7%. Kirkwall reported a rise of 0.9%, while Islay and Barra recorded even sharper increases, up by 10.5% and 9.2% respectively.
At Stornoway, passenger numbers fell by 2.4%, mainly due to the completion of the school building programme, a project which required external construction workers flying between Stornoway and the mainland. Tiree and Benbecula recorded a drop of 4.7% and 5.2% respectively.
A reduction in scheduled passenger movements, and weather related cancellations, saw passenger numbers at Wick fall by 34.3%.
Overall, across the HIAL network, year to date passenger numbers have increased by 2.4% (April to August 2012).
Inglis Lyon, managing director of HIAL, said: "The market is still clearly challenging, particularly the domestic sector. Given the economic climate, and the return to recession, this is not particularly surprising.
"Against that background, any growth is welcome, however modest; and despite these challenges, there are also reasons to cheer, including the success of the Inverness to Amsterdam service, the continued growth in energy-related traffic and Dundee’s return to growth.
"We are continuing to invest in our terminals and airport infrastructure to provide a better experience for our passengers and a more efficient operating environment for our airline customers. We are also working hard, in partnership with agencies across Scotland, to support the growth ambitions of our airlines."
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