CHANCELLOR George Osborne named the Highland capital yesterday as one of the cities in line to benefit from measures to help new flights get off the ground.
His Budget pledge to boost regional airports could mean new links from Inverness to all over the globe.
Flights between the north’s main airport and London were saved last year after a Press and Journal campaign.
There had been fears the Inverness-Gatwick link would be lost after easyJet bought Flybe’s landing slots.
Mr Osborne said yesterday: “Because we want all parts of our country to see better links with the markets of the future, we’re going to provide start-up support for new routes from regional airports like Liverpool, Leeds or, indeed, Inverness.”
The prospect of government cash being used to boost new routes was welcomed in the north, but there was a lukewarm response to the chancellor’s plan to scrap the two highest of the four air passenger duty (APD) bands in a move affecting only long-haul routes.
A spokesman for Highlands and Islands Airports, which operates airports across the north, said: “A regional start-up fund that incentivises airlines to operate from smaller regional airports could, in turn, help boost local business and tourism.
“We are disappointed, however, that the chancellor has failed to address industry concerns about the impact of APD on the domestic market.”