HITRANS welcomes the re-introduction of air links between Inverness and Heathrow

A “game changer” was how Ranald Robertson, Director of HITRANS, the regional transport partnership for the Highlands and Islands, described the announcement by British Airways that they will be reintroducing air links between Inverness Airport and Heathrow, London from May next year.

The year-round service commences on 3 May 2016, with a daily inbound flight leaving Heathrow just before 10:00 and an afternoon flight from Inverness.

Mr Robertson said: “This is tremendous news for the Highlands and Islands and is something we have been seeking for a very long period. We have evidence that more than 80,000 travellers from this area each year travel to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and even further afield to make a connection to Heathrow for travel to worldwide destinations.

“This announcement is a game changer in that these folk will now have the service on their doorstep, relieving them of long journeys and freeing the roads of traffic.

“I am sure the capacity is here in the Highlands and Islands to take full advantage of the connectivity that Heathrow provides without impacting in any way on the existing services between Inverness and Gatwick/Luton, provided by EasyJet.

“We would like to congratulate HIAL on attracting this hugely important new service provided by British Airways to Inverness and providing passengers with access to a great global service network.”