Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) is the company that owns and operates 10 airports in the Scottish Highlands

Scottish Highlands

The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...

, the Northern Isles

Northern Isles

The Northern Isles is a chain of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The climate is cool and temperate and much influenced by the surrounding seas. There are two main island groups: Shetland and Orkney...

 and the Western Isles. The company is wholly owned

Government-owned corporation

A government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government...

 by the Scottish Ministers, and is funded by the Scottish Government's Transport Directorate, one of the Finance and Sustainable Growth Directorates.

The company is based at Inverness Airport

Inverness Airport

Inverness Airport is an international airport situated at Dalcross, north east of the city of Inverness in Highland, Scotland. The airport is the main gateway for travellers to the north of Scotland with a wide range of scheduled services throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, and limited...

.

History

Highlands and Islands Airports Limited was incorporated on March 4, 1986 by the Civil Aviation Authority. In 1995, ownership transferred from the CAA to the Secretary of State for Scotland

Secretary of State for Scotland

The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...

, and to the Scottish Ministers upon devolution.

The company was criticized for a PFI

Private Finance Initiative

The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...

 deal signed to build a new terminal at Inverness Airport

Inverness Airport

Inverness Airport is an international airport situated at Dalcross, north east of the city of Inverness in Highland, Scotland. The airport is the main gateway for travellers to the north of Scotland with a wide range of scheduled services throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, and limited...

, which meant that HIAL had to pay £3.50 to the PFI operator for every passenger flying from the airport. In 2006, the PFI deal was cancelled, costing the Scottish Executive £27.5m.

Funding

It receives subsidies from public funds under terms of the Civil Aviation Act 1982.

For the year ending 31 March 2006, HIAL received £14,763,000 in revenue subsidies.

Airports

HIAL operates the following airports:

• Barra Airport,
• Benbecula Airport
  Benbecula Airport
  Benbecula Airport is located on the island of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides, off the West Coast of Scotland. It is a small rural airport owned and maintained by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited....
  
  ,
• Campbeltown Airport
  Campbeltown Airport
  Campbeltown Airport is located at Machrihanish, west of Campbeltown, near the tip of the Kintyre peninsula in Argyll and Bute on the west coast of Scotland...
  
  ,
• Dundee Airport
  Dundee Airport
  -Road:The airport lies on the main A85 Riverside Drive, which links the city centre to the Kingsway and the A90, with the airport barely a couple of kilometers from the city centre itself. Taxis are available from outside the airport.-Bus:...
  
  ,
• Inverness Airport
  Inverness Airport
  Inverness Airport is an international airport situated at Dalcross, north east of the city of Inverness in Highland, Scotland. The airport is the main gateway for travellers to the north of Scotland with a wide range of scheduled services throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, and limited...
  
  ,
• Islay Airport
  Islay Airport
  Islay Airport is located north northwest of Port Ellen on the island of Islay in Argyll and Bute, off the west coast of Scotland. It is a small rural airport owned and maintained by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited.-History:The first airports appeared in Islay in the 1930s. However, these...
  
  ,
• Kirkwall Airport
  Kirkwall Airport
  Kirkwall Airport is the main airport serving the Orkney Islands in Scotland. It is located southeast of Kirkwall and is owned by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited...
  
  ,
• Stornoway Airport
  Stornoway Airport
  -Other Tenants:* Maritime and Coastguard Agency - 2 Sikorsky S-92 helicopters operated by CHC Helicopter-Accident and incidents:...
  
  ,
• Sumburgh Airport
  Sumburgh Airport
  -Other tenants:*Maritime and Coastguard Agency *Bristow Helicopters*Bond Helicopters -Incidents and accidents:...
  
  ,
• Tiree Airport
  Tiree Airport
  Tiree Airport is located north northeast of Balemartine on the island of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. It is owned and maintained by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited....
  
   and
• Wick Airport
  Wick Airport
  Wick Airport is located north of the town of Wick in Caithness at the north-eastern extremity of the mainland of Scotland. It is owned and maintained by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited....
  
  .