An opportunity was grabbed yesterday to try and reinstate air links between Heathrow and Inverness Airport.
Inverness Chamber of Commerce (ICC) chief executive Stewart Nicol took the campaign direct to London on the day Heathrow Airport presented its controversial expansion plans to the Airport Commission.
Mr Nicol met with John Holland-Kaye, chief executive designate of Heathrow Airport, to highlight the benefits which better air links would bring to the Highland economy.
A team from Heathrow visited Inverness in April this year as part of its One Hub or None initiative, to listen to views from Chamber of Commerce members and hear from them what they need from Heathrow expansion.
At the time, local business leaders also called for immediate action on reinstating the crucial link.
Mr Nicol said: “Given recent spells of uncertainty regarding direct air services to London, Inverness Chamber of Commerce believes improved connectivity with the UK capital is vital to growing the Highland economy.
“At the chamber event in April, Heathrow found that local businesses wanted the direct link to the airport reinstated, and that increased cargo capacity would help local businesses trade across the UK and beyond.
Mr Holland-Kaye said: “Our plans have been heavily influenced by the feedback we received from stakeholders across the country. We know air connectivity to the UK’s hub is crucial to the Highlands and Heathrow expansion will provide space for flights to UK airports, like Inverness. We will also double our existing cargo capacity. This is great news for Highland businesses looking to export nationally and internationally.”
The Heathrow expansion plans follow a recent study by Frontier Economics which revealed that the lack of capacity at the airport is costing the UK up to £14billion a year.
Flights between Inverness and Heathrow stopped in the mid-1990s when landing slots were withdrawn.
The plea for resurrecting the flights was made after flights between Inverness and London Gatwick were reinstated by easyJet following Flybe dropping the route. Since then Flybe announced that later this year they are starting new services between Inverness and London City.
Expansion plans, Page 19