June 2017 was a milestone month in the history of Aberdeen International Airport (AIA).
Passengers were, for the first time, able to see the results of the second phase of a three-year transformation as part of a £20 million investment at the terminal.
Work on the two-storey extension to the south of the existing Dyce terminal, built in 1977, started last April.
The new look comes as AIA continues its recovery from the darkest days of the oil and gas slump, when a drop in helicopter business and a plunge in business and leisure bookings for fixed-wing flights sent passenger figures spiralling in the wrong direction.
A corner was turned in spring 2017, when AIA’s monthly passenger statistics started to improve in line with rising confidence in the north-east economy generally.
But the recovery has had a few nasty bumps to contend with along the way.
Icelandair’s decision earlier this year to axe flights between the Granite City and Keflavik, Iceland’s international air hub, for “commercial reasons” came just weeks after German flag carrier Lufthansa scrapped its service from Aberdeen to Frankfurt.
Loganair also called time on its Aberdeen to Durham-Tees Valley Airport flights.
More recently, budget airline Ryanair ditched its service from Aberdeen to Malaga in Spain, also citing “commercial reasons”.
The loss of air links to Keflavik – and especially Frankfurt – robbed AIA of important connection options for north-east passengers travelling to destinations around the world.
Lufthansa’s flights from the Granite City were the only ones connecting the region directly with Germany, an important tourism market, while business and leisure passengers lost access to global connections through one of Europe’s biggest aviation hubs at Frankfurt.
The old adage of “use them or lose them” is as true today as it was in 2007, when Scottish budget airline Flyglobspan launched a string of flights from Aberdeen to holiday hotspots around Europe. It later blamed soaring fuel costs, excessive airport charges and lack of demand for it ditching a numbers of services from Aberdeen.
Flyglobespan collapsed in late 2009, leaving Aberdeen bereft of a raft of cheap flights to the sun.
Another now defunct airline, Monarch, also failed to make Aberdeen work for its budget flights.
Ryanair returned to AIA in 2017 after a five-year absence, with planes taking off twice a week for both Malaga and Alicante.
It also started flights to the Portuguese hotspot of Faro, while a fourth new route, involving summer services to Malta, took off earlier this year.
The loss of the Malaga flights so soon after they began is a stark reminder that seat sales are, ultimately, the deciding factor in where people can fly to from their local airport.
Aberdeen, with a relatively small catchment population in aviation terms, is also caught in something of a Catch 22 situation.
With many more and cheaper flights available from Edinburgh and Glasgow, it is hardly surprising that a lot of north-east passengers happily jump in their cars, or take a bus or train down to the central belt to get up in the air.
But this “leakage” south affects AIA’s ability to lure more airlines to Aberdeen, as it would mean some loss of business for their operations in Scotland’s two largest cities.
Of course, we would all like to see more flights and destinations available from our nearest airport, but there is a limit to what is realistically possible.
The bigger the conurbation, the greater are the number and variety of air links.
Edinburgh and Glasgow are always going to have more flights than Aberdeen or Inverness, while Manchester will always have more choice than any of the Scottish airports.
London will always beat everywhere else in the UK when it comes to aviation options.
AIA’s management team is constantly trying to deliver more choice, frequently banging the drum for the north-east gateway at aviation industry events around the world.
There will be successes, and the north-east’s diversifying economy and Aberdeen’s growing choice of hotels are factors in the airport’s favour as tourism chiefs step up their efforts to woo more visitors to the region.
Inbound tourism potential has perhaps never been greater and is likely to be a key factor for any airlines considering new flights to and from the Granite City.
But, inevitably, there are always going to be disappointments as carriers try out new routes only to find further down the line that demand is not as strong as was hoped.
In the meantime, work carries on apace to improve the facilities for passengers flying into AIA and departing it for destinations across the UK and overseas.
Last year, the airport saw the completion of phase one of its revamp. It created a new international arrivals hall and baggage reclaim area.
Work on a third phase is already under way and will deliver new and bigger catering facilities, with bosses hoping it will finished in time for Offshore Europe 2019.
AIA managing director Carol Benzie said it was “brilliant” to see the latest improvements completed on schedule.
She added: “This is probably the biggest visible change since the current terminal was built in the 1970s.”
The improvements can only strengthen the case for attracting more airlines and new routes to Aberdeen, she said, adding: “We’re undergoing one of most significant upgrades in our 84-year history.
“We’re in the final phase of our three-year, multi-million-pound transformation project, and when completed in Q3 2019, it will have delivered a 50% increase in the size of the terminal.
“The investment is significant, but we are entirely committed to providing our passengers with an improved overall airport experience.
“The first phase incorporated the physical extension of the terminal, and included international and domestic baggage reclaim facilities, two new business lounges and new passport control and immigration facilities. Since opening last July, our award-winning Northern Lights Executive Lounge has proved popular with our passengers, with more than 110,000 visitors experiencing the best local food and drink the region has to offer.
“Just last month, we were proud to open our enhanced security search area and new retail offering including World Duty Free, Rolling Luggage, WH Smith bookshop and WH Smith main store.
“After cutting the ribbon, we immediately entered the next stage.
“This final phase involves extensive reconfiguration to the rest of the departure lounge, increased floor space and the introduction of new retail and catering outlets.
“We are aiming to have our completed terminal ready for the bi-annual influx of regular visitors to Offshore Europe 2019.
“Outside of the airport, we’re excited about the new opportunities the AWPR (Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route) could bring for us.
“We want to attract new passengers from both north and south of the city who perhaps may not have considered flying from Aberdeen due to journey times.
“If we can evidence to airlines that the AWPR is allowing more people to come to this airport, rather than travel to other airports because of ease of access, then it will definitely strengthen the business case for new airlines to operate here.”
AIA is part of AGS Airports, whose chief executive, Derek Provan, said: “Shareholders showed a lot of faith in Aberdeen at the time we made the decision to invest in this extension.
“The city was in the depths of a major downturn, which was deeper and lasted longer than anyone expected.
“We needed to make sure we had the facilities to support the oil and gas industry in its recovery, but also continue to find new leisure and sun routes for people in Aberdeen and the shire.”
AIA’s upgrade and a proposed cut in air passenger duty can help to unlock more new routes from the north-east gateway, he added.