Inverness and the Highlands are now reconnected to London Heathrow, the UK’s global gateway, via a daily service which will facilitate business growth in the north of Scotland, according to a release by Heathrow Airport.
This new daily service operated by British Airways reconnects the capital of the Highlands to Heathrow for the first time in almost a decade. With over 100,000 seats available annually, the service opens up profitable trade routes and 92 new onward long-haul destinations, enabling businesses and leisure passengers to more easily connect to markets around the world.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said: ‘The Inverness-Heathrow route offers so much potential for the businesses and people of the north west of Scotland who for too long have been let down by the indecision on airport expansion. Today is a momentous day – Inverness joins Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle with a route into Heathrow and access to markets from Manila to Mexico City, from Chicago to Chengdu, from Hanoi to Houston. It means more growth and a more secure economic future for the Highlands and I’m delighted that we’re able to be a part of that future success.’
Stewart Nicol, Chief Executive, Inverness Chamber of Commerce said: ‘This is a very significant development for the Highland business community in terms of increasing the connectivity between Inverness, London and the South-East of the UK. This will make it much easier for Highland businesses to connect to markets across the world. It is also a significant endorsement of all that HIAL have done to secure the UK’s leading airline, and one of the world’s most iconic commercial airline brands, back to the city of Inverness. In addition to making it easier for Highland businesses to access global destinations from Heathrow, this route makes it much easier for tourists from across the world to get to Inverness.’
Sarah Medcraf, Chief Executive Officer, Moray Chamber of Commerce said: ‘We welcome the launch of this new service which will greatly enhance the options of travel, particularly for business travel connections. The continued investment of transport links in the Highlands, Islands & Moray will encourage economic development to show that this is the place to live, work and play.’
According to new economic analysis, the Inverness route will have a significant positive impact on the Inverness economy with benefits for regional industries such as life sciences, food and drink and tourism, the release noted.
