AIRPORT LEADERSHIP
Highland games W
hen I fl ew into Inverness, the fi rst thing that came to my mind was Loch Ness and the Loch Ness monster. Many otherwise intelligent people have claimed over the years to have seen sightings of ‘Nessie’. I then
thought of all the wonderful brands of Scottish whisky and pondered on the connection. I was met off the plane by Basil O’Fee who has lived in Inverness for
many years. O’Fee spent most of that time in the aviation business and is a mine of information on the challenges facing the business in such a remote location. We had arranged to meet Inglis Lyon, Highlands and Islands
Airports’ CEO, at his offi ces in the airport campus. Lyon has been CEO for the past fi ve years and I understood that he had a very interesting story to tell about how he brought about change over this time.
The airport operator Highlands and Islands Airports (HIA) has a diverse airport portfolio, operating 11 gateways across the region, whose passenger numbers range from 8,000 to 600,000 per annum. They include Inverness itself, the corporate headquarters and
the largest airport; Wick, a major attraction for the surfi ng community who descend upon it in the summer; Tiree, the smallest with 8,000 passengers yearly; Barra, with the only licensed beach airstrip in the world (see illustration); Dundee, previously operated by the city council; Sumburgh, which was originally upgraded for oil traffi c; Stornoway, a large ex-military airfi eld and Kirkwall, Benbecula, Campbeltown and Islay. Obviously, this region has had – and still has – some strategic
importance for the oil industry, the military and Scottish tourism. It is also remote and removed from the centre of things.
66 AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2011
Terri Morrissey talks to Highlands and Islands Airports’ Inglis Lyon to discover more about the challenges facing the CEO of such a diverse portfolio of gateways.
The airport company is owned by the government and its operations are
subsidised as the volumes of traffi c are too low to be profi table from just airport operations. It has a staff of almost 600 and a management team that has recently
been largely renewed. Indeed, there is only one member of the original senior team that predates Lyon’s arrival. One of the most challenging issues Lyon faced when he took
over the role as CEO was to think of innovative ways in which the company could reduce its dependence on subsidy by creating revenue generating opportunities.
Balancing act The dilemma of balancing regional/social/economic development and profi tability came under the microscope in a April/May 2010 issue of Airport World. It is a constant challenge for small and medium sized airports and HIA is no exception. Politically, there is no stomach to shut down smaller airports
if they are located in economically depressed areas; have a role to play in building the economic base of a region; and if they serve social purposes (such as connectivity or delivering lifeline services and mail/supplies). Lyon makes the argument very forcibly that the total contribution to
the local economy should be assessed, not just the number of passengers that are processed. For example, some of the smaller airports are marketed as ‘destination’
airports because passengers do not just use the airport to get from A to B, they use it to experience all that the area or island has to offer. The airport’s contribution therefore adds value through tourism spend on accommodation, sports, food and drink and perhaps local small industry. Partnerships and collaboration between airport
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