Inverness Chamber of Commerce members enjoyed an insightful Business Breakfast this week with guest speakers Paul Kelsall, Chief Executive of Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL), and Graeme Bell, General Manager of Inverness Airport. Held at the Kingsmills Hotel, the event attracted over 50 delegates and offered a unique opportunity to hear directly from the leadership of one of the region’s most important transport hubs.
Leading with Values and Vision
Paul Kelsall, who joined HIAL just over a year ago, opened the session with a brief personal introduction, sharing his background in the military and helicopter operations in the oil and gas sector. He spoke warmly of his experience since moving to Inverness and highlighted his early efforts to connect with colleagues across the organisation, including visits to all 11 HIAL airports within his first 90 days.
As CEO of the Scottish Government-owned organisation, Paul outlined HIAL’s refreshed values – Safety, Respect, Teamwork, and Excellence – and emphasised the organisation’s central mission: connectivity for communities, balanced with sustainability and future growth.
Paul explains, “We want more traffic, but we want it to be the right kind of traffic, delivered sustainably.” He praised staff across the network for their dedication and professionalism, describing them as “people who go above and beyond and always do it with a smile.”
Inverness Airport: Global Gateway with Local Strength
Following Paul’s overview, Graeme Bell provided a deeper look into the operations, performance, and ambitions of Inverness Airport. He highlighted the airport’s impressive accolade – Best Airport in Europe under 2 million passengers for five consecutive years, recently recognised with induction into the ACI World Director General’s Roll of Excellence – a distinction shared by only ten airports globally.
Graeme offered delegates a breakdown of Inverness Airport’s current air services and passenger numbers, with EasyJet and British Airways as the top carriers. He noted sustained demand for connectivity through major hubs such as Amsterdam and London Heathrow, with up to 50% of passengers continuing their journeys internationally – underlining the airport’s vital role as a global access point for the Highlands.
Expanding Routes and Meeting Demand
On future routes, Graeme spoke candidly about aspirations to reintroduce links to Dublin, Birmingham, and potentially destinations in Germany and Switzerland, while noting that business demand and airline economics remain key challenges. Summer charter flights to Spain continue to perform well, with recent Palma departures flying at full capacity.
Q&A: Workforce, Infrastructure and Building the Case for Growth
During the Q&A session, Chamber members explored topics including workforce development, infrastructure investment, and how regional business can support future growth.
Paul confirmed HIAL employs around 150 people locally and 530 across the wider group and spoke of increasing focus on modern apprenticeships and succession planning, offering a range of career pathways from air traffic control to engineering and emergency services.
When asked about the new Inverness Airport railway station, Graeme noted it had not directly increased passenger numbers but was being well-used and offered valuable connectivity benefits, particularly for nearby communities such as Tornagrain.
On infrastructure, Graeme was honest about current limitations. He said, “We’d still love to progress with terminal expansion, but right now the business case doesn’t stack up.”
However, both speakers welcomed collaboration with the business community to build stronger cases for future investment, noting that local support and evidence of demand could play a vital role in shaping development plans.
Retail opportunities and enhanced passenger experience remain active priorities for the airport team.
Supporting Regional Growth and Tourism
The session also touched on tourism, with Graeme highlighting the role of Inverness Airport in supporting the golf tourism market. Increasingly, visitors from the United States are flying directly to the Highlands to play iconic courses such as Castle Stuart, reinforcing the importance of international connectivity for the regional economy.
Looking Ahead: Stronger Together
Reflecting on the event, Colin Marr, CEO of Inverness Chamber of Commerce, said, “We’re extremely grateful to Paul and Graeme for sharing such open and honest insights with our members. Both at our business breakfast and at last night’s roundtable dinner, a clear message came through – Inverness Airport is not just a gateway, but a strategic asset for the Highlands.
“What stood out was their willingness to work with the business community to develop future services and strengthen the case for investment. That kind of openness, ambition, and commitment to partnership gives real confidence as we look to grow our economy together.”