The new easyJet flights between Inverness and Gatwick were yesterday hailed by business leaders as being “essential” to north development.
The budget airline will now fly to London’s second-largest airport twice daily, preserving the opportunity to fly from the Highlands to the capital and back in a single day.
The start of the service comes after an intense campaign last year, led by the Press and Journal, to save the Gatwick services following Flybe’s announcement that it was pulling out of Inverness Airport.
Business leaders and politicians in the north argued successfully that morning and evening flights between the Highlands and London were vital to the region.
They also pointed out that the airport provided important connections to destinations across the globe.
Local MP and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander was among the passengers on the inaugural morning flight as he headed to Westminster after a weekend in his constituency.
He said: “It is an important route for us in the Highlands. The direct daily service between Inverness and London is an economically essential lifeline.
“I hope it will be a commercial success for Inverness and look forward to the relationship with easyJet going from strength to strength.”
The Scottish Government’s transport minister Keith Brown also joined the party on the concourse to see the flight off.
EasyJet’s head of Scotland Ali Gayward said the Inverness flights “reaffirmed our commitment to Scotland”.
The airline renamed the plane “Inverness” and painted its tail with a specially-designed orange tartan. The pilot and co-pilot also donned easyJet tartan kilts for the flight.
There are now hopes that easyJet will develop its schedule and add other destinations. However senior figures at the company and airport were tight-lipped about potential future destinations.
Inglis Lyon, managing director of Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd, said: “We are working on connections to other locations and that work is going well. I cannot say where but it will complement our other locations.
“On the south-east access issue, it will be a long time before we can get back into Heathrow so we have to look at alternatives.”
Stewart Nicol, chief executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce, said that the campaign to save the Gatwick slots for Highland flights had been “hard fought and hard won”.
He added that the service was “commercially important” for the region’s business and tourism.