Tourism bosses and political leaders welcomed the return of the Inverness to Heathrow flight yesterday after an absence of nearly 20 years.
Inverness Airport chiefs hailed the improved global connectivity to the Highlands through the new air link, which last operated in 1997.
And with the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart just weeks away, one golfing boss described it as a “sending from heaven” which would draw visitors in from around the globe.
The new year-round, daily service has an inbound flight leaving Heathrow at 9.55am and an afternoon flight from Inverness at 12.10pm.
Highlands and Islands Airports managing director Inglis Lyon said: “We are now connected with one of the world’s largest and most credible marketing machine and have connectivity to terminal five at Heathrow. Their service to JFK Airport is on the hour, so we are connecting this micro-hub that is the Highlands to that macro-hub in America.
“And there is also more opportunity, because as Highlanders we have always been good at taking our exports of tourism and whisky abroad, but there is now this additional platform. What we have to do now is give British Airways the confidence to build on this with more services.”
As the first plane arrived at the terminal at Dalcross yesterday, a special guard of honour was created by the airport’s fire service, who sprayed a water arch over the aircraft.
Couple Mark and Anne Paterson, both 50, were among the first passengers to arrive.
The pair live in west London but Mrs Paterson is originally from Inverness.
She said: “I am delighted that the service is back, it’s great for Inverness. I can not tell you how brilliant it’s going to be for us.”
Castle Stuart golf course manager, Stuart McColm, who is preparing for this year’s Scottish Open event in July, said: “I don’t think you can underestimate the connectivity. This is massive for us.
“The connections which come into terminal five at Heathrow time well with the 9.55am flight to Inverness, and it makes the region and its golf courses a viable first page on a Scottish golf itinerary. There are a lot of overnight flights from America and a lot arrive at about 7am, so this is heaven sent.
“For the Scottish Open, it will be important for drawing the London audience, and it will impact players and officials in particular. The European tour HQ is at Wentworth, which is about 15 minutes from Heathrow, so it keeps us on the map and ensures that connectivity to the region and the great golf courses that we have to offer.”
Visit Scotland chairman, Lord John Thurso, added: “This is wonderful. My daughter, her husband and their children live in Canada, and within a month of the new service being announced, they had booked Toronto to Inverness in time for Christmas.
“Connectivity is one of the most important issues in this part of the world so a new flight helps us with more ability to link the Highlands to all countries throughout the world.”
Stewart Nicol, chief executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is a very significant development for the Highland business community, not only in terms of increasing the connectivity between Inverness and London and the south-east of the UK, but also by making it much easier for Highland businesses connect to their customers across the world.”
Concerns
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Despite the widespread enthusiasm for the new service, there were concerns about the timing of the flights.
Inverness South councillor Jim Crawford, although hopeful of the success of the new flights, criticised their timings and said they were not aligned with business hours.
He said: “If you look at the flight today, it left Heathrow at 9.55am and gets in at 11.30am, then it turns round straight away and goes back. As a businessman you have to stay the night to use the service. But you can go to Gatwick and be home at 10pm at night, so why would you use the Heathrow service?
“If they are looking at this as a trial run for more flights then it’s not a good basis for an experiment. A businessman does not want to leave after noon.
“The other concern I have is that BA may be doing this to show it is interested in connectivity for a third runway at Heathrow. But I think if Heathrow was going to get the third runway, they would have had it by now.
“I think it’s to show to the UK Government that they have an interest in keeping regular connectivity to London. It’s paying lip service.”
However, a spokesman for British Airways said: “The city’s provost, the presidents of Inverness and Moray Chambers of Commerce, the local MP VisitScotland, Transport Scotland and a host of private sector companies in the tourism and manufacturing sectors in the region have all thrown their weight behind the new route.
“British Airways is committed to working with Scotland’s national bodies and the business, civic and political influencers involved in the economic development of Inverness and the Highlands and islands, including Highlands and Islands Airports to ensure that the route matures and that the potential shown by the high passenger numbers on both today’s inaugural inbound and outbound flights is maximised.”