Loganair claims to have made "significant progress" following concerns about the safety and reliability of its aircraft.

The Scottish airline, which operates lifeline routes across the Highlands and Islands, said it has invested heavily in its engineering division and seen punctuality improve in recent months.

Pilots' union Balpa claimed some of Loganair's planes were "unserviceable" following a series of incidents in 2015.

The airline blamed the departure of a number of experienced engineers.

In its annual report published on Friday, chairman David Harrison said: "The reliability of our services fell below what our customers should rightly expect but we have invested heavily in our engineering resource, and now have a full complement of appropriately trained staff in place.

"We're now starting to see growth once again in customer numbers on many of our routes as a result of the improving reliability."

Loganair's pre-tax profits almost halved over the last financial year to March, from £7.08m to £3.6m.

Newly appointed managing director Jonthan Hinkles said: "Our results for 2015/16 reflect the turbulence experienced by Loganair's customers as a result of operational issues.

"We're pleased to say that we have made very significant progress since then to achieve the levels of punctuality and reliability that our customers are entitled to.

"In the third quarter of 2016, our punctuality has improved from 79% a year ago to 86% this year and the number of flights cancelled or significantly delayed has fallen by two-thirds."

He added: "These figures are a testament to the improvements and investments that have been made since that time and underline our commitment to ensure that Loganair earns the right to be called Scotland's airline."