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Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) is the company that owns and operates 11 airports in the Scottish Highlands, the Northern Isles and the Western Isles. The company is wholly owned by the Scottish Ministers, and is funded by the Scottish Government's Transport Directorate, one of the Finance and Sustainable Growth Directorates.
Contents
The company is based at Inverness Airport.
History
Highlands and Islands Airports Limited was incorporated on 4 March 1986 by the Civil Aviation Authority. In 1995, ownership transferred from the CAA to the Secretary of State for Scotland, and to the Scottish Ministers upon devolution.
The company was criticized for a PFI deal signed to build a new terminal at Inverness Airport, 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: