ABSTRACT
The intention of the 1987 Single European Act was to renew an impetus for European integration by completing the internal market anticipated to encourage the free movement of goods, people, services and capital across the member states of the European Union. A place-based approach to regional development is growth oriented and encompasses bottom-up strategies, developed by the local communities and tailored to their own priorities, which identify and commercialise tangible and intangible local assets. Firms and enterprises located in remote regions would be competing in the same markets as those in the economic centres and could therefore similarly benefit from air connectivity. A range of obligations can be placed on a route to ensure that routes fulfil the particular needs of regions, to ensure the continuity, regularity and capacity of the service and the affordability of fares. The financial burden became too large for the council in 2007, and the airport was offered to Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd.
