Inverness to London Air Services

Highland Councillors are to ask the UK Transport Secretary, Ruth Kelly, to protect air services from the Highlands to hub airports in London, particularly Gatwick and Heathrow.

The move follows the announcement by BMI that air services between Inverness and Heathrow are to be withdrawn from 29 March this year. This is a body blow to the area as once again the link to Heathrow has been lost, having been re-established in 2004 following cancellation by BA in 1997.

The Council sees Heathrow, followed by Gatwick, as having the greatest numbers of international flights with the corresponding interlining opportunities, which are of greatest significance to the Highland economy.

Councillor John Laing, Chairman of the Council’s Transport Environmental and Community Services, said: “Whilst all of our air links are important, it is the links with Heathrow and Gatwick which are key to business and to attracting inward investors to the Highlands. We will be writing to the Secretary of State for Transport to highlight the lack of a transport strategy to protect strategic air services to remote areas like the Highlands and asking her to carefully examine a means of safeguarding links, which recognise the importance of Heathrow and Gatwick to the Highlands.”

A long-running campaign to persuade the Government to introduce a Public Service Obligation for the Inverness – Gatwick route has been resisted by the UK Government.

The Department of Transport is currently undertaking a consultation for the introduction of a third runway at Heathrow. Councillor Laing hopes this might be used for regional air services, such as the one for Inverness, and the Council will be making this plea when it responds to this consultation by 27 February.