Highland Council welcomes Inverness to Heathrow same-day flights
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THE return of early morning BA flights between Inverness and Heathrow – restoring the chance of making a return trip to the UK capital in the space of one day – has been welcomed by councillors as a boost for Highland business.
The first early service in more than 20 years left Inverness Airport on Monday morning, with its passengers piped on board by members of the Inverness Royal British Legion Pipe Band, which, like BA, is celebrating its centenary this year.
Passenger capacity on the route will increase by 30 per cent with the introduction of the new flight schedule, which will bring the number of flights up to three return services on Saturdays and Sundays, with a double daily service Monday to Friday. From October, British Airways are to operate a twice daily service between the two cities seven days a week.
Highland Council leader Margaret Davidson said: “Highland Council has long recognised the importance of having regular direct flights into Heathrow and improved air links is a key aim of our Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal.
"This is great news for the Highland economy which will go a long way to meeting the needs of the region’s business sector and provide a boost to our tourism industry.
“It’s been more than 20 years since an early-morning flight between Inverness and London Heathrow was provided and this new British Airways service will be warmly welcomed by the Highland business community as it allows people like myself to attend important meetings in London and return the same day without wasting precious time and resources.
"This also applies to southern businesses wanting to take advantage of the opportunities the region has to offer, which is good news indeed.”
Councillor Allan Henderson, chairman of the council’s development and infrastructure service and chairman of HiTrans, said: “The council and HiTrans have long supported the call for improved flight connectivity between Inverness and Heathrow enabling people to make daily return trips in either direction and also make better connections to and from international markets.
"British Airways are filling a gap that has been in the market for a long time and it’s up to us now in Highland to use the service to demonstrate our demand and desire for the service.”
Inverness Provost Helen Carmichael said: “This is great news for Inverness and the region.
"Tourism is a major contributor to the our economy and we look forward to welcoming an inflow of new visitors to Inverness and the Highlands such as Londoners on long weekends or international visitors using the new service as a direct interconnecting route via Heathrow.”
