An airport could be built on Skye in two years if the proposal is taken forward, according to a new report.

Highland councillors were given a summary of the business case for an air service based out of Ashaig Airfield near Broadford on Monday.

The report said the financial benefit of expanding the little-used airstrip could be as much as £46m in the first 30 years.

The revamp could be completed within two years of councillors approving the project, it suggested.

A separate study commissioned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise found there is significant demand for flights to the island and highlighted potential benefits to the region.

Councillor Drew Millar, chairman of the Isle of Skye and Raasay committee, said: "This is a very exciting report.

"The reintroduction of scheduled flights to Skye would be an enormous boost to our local economy and the cost benefit analysis clearly proves how valuable this would be."

Ashaig Airfield was built by the Corps of Royal Engineers in the 1970s and featured in the opening scene of the film Flash Gordon.

The last regular commercial flight landed at Ashaig in 1988 but the airstrip is still used by the emergency services and private hire firms.

Campaign group FlySkye said: "The case for the reintroduction of an air service has been enhanced by new and additional information about the the wider socio-economic benefits that would ensue.

"The case for the restoration of commercial flights to and from Skye is considerably strengthened by the benefit cost-ratio analysis, which in one scenario could be as high as 2:2."