Council Reaffirms Heathrow Priority

Highland Councillors firmly believe that some of the additional capacity at Heathrow Airport, London, which will be created by a third runway should be used to secure slots for air services which serve peripheral locations such as Inverness.

Until then, slots should be reserved for three rotations per day for Inverness in order to facilitate the re-commencement of an Inverness – Heathrow service.

The Council has made its views known in a response to the Department of Transport’s consultation on adding capacity at Heathrow Airport.

It believes the Government should have a strategy for transport links serving UK peripheral regions rather than leaving it solely to market forces to decide which region is served.

Councillor John Laing, Chairman of the Transport Environmental and Community Services Committee, said: “The re-commencement of an Inverness – Heathrow service is key to assisting the Highlands and Islands in making a strong contribution to the UK economy. Heathrow provides travellers from Inverness with interlining opportunities which other hub airports fail to provide. The Government should ensure that Heathrow fulfils the role of a national transport infrastructure asset by taking steps to secure services using Public Service Obligations as necessary.”