The UK Government has been warned expansion at Heathrow will be “meaningless” without access to the air.
Highland MP, Drew Hendry, raised the issue of the EU-US open skies agreement in the Commons yesterday.
His intervention came as the six airports due to be served by the London hub, following the opening of the new runway, were named.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said it “expects” Belfast International, Liverpool, Newquay, Humberside, Prestwick and Durham Tees Valley to be added to Heathrow’s domestic network by 2030.
Mr Hendry welcomed the decision to go ahead with the plans “after many years of waiting”.
But he added: “Building a new runway is meaningless if we do not have access to the air and the EU-US open skies agreement.”
He asked Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, whether he intended to seek membership of the arrangement.
It allows any airline in the EU to fly to any point in the US and vice versa.
Mr Grayling said it would be a “subject for negotiation” and added: “We will obviously seek to provide the best possible arrangements for the future.
“But, whatever the arrangements, the fact remains that there were flights to and from EU capitals long before the EU even existed, and that will continue after Britain has left the EU.”
Mr Hendry, who is the SNP MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, also asked what guarantees the minister would give to regional airports in Scotland about routes and slots following the Heathrow expansion.
Mr Grayling replied: “Heathrow will be under an obligation to fulfil its promises in respect of regional connectivity.
“I expect this capacity to open links, not only between the UK and the rest of the world, but from within the UK to Heathrow and the rest of the world.”
He stressed that would be important to airports in Scotland, the north of England and other parts of the UK.
A draft national policy statement sets out why Heathrow expansion is the government’s preferred option for boosting airport capacity in south-east England.
A 16-week public consultation has been launched, with scrutiny by the Commons transport committee beginning this summer.
One of the goals outlined in the Brexit white paper, published yesterday, is to secure a deal so Britons can continue to enjoy affordable flights, as they do in the EU’s internal aviation market.