New flights between Inverness and Heathrow announced

British Airways has announced it will start a new daily flight connecting Inverness with Heathrow Airport from next year.

BA ended its services between the two airports in 1997.

Easyjet provides a link to London via its services between Gatwick and Luton to the Highland capital.

The new year-round service will start on 3 May 2016, with an inbound flight leaving Heathrow just before 10:00 and an afternoon flight from Inverness.

Denize Mcgregor, British Airways' head of UK customer service and operations, said: "We are very pleased to be starting our new service to Inverness.

"As the capital of the Highlands, Inverness has a strong and diverse economy and has developed into a major centre for life sciences, commercialisation and research."

Inglis Lyon, managing director of Highlands and Islands Airports Limited, said: "We are delighted to welcome British Airways back to Inverness Airport.

"This is a significant achievement for the airport as British Airways is a world class airline, serving more than 130 international destinations from Heathrow, giving passengers from Inverness access to a truly global network."

Inverness Chamber of Commerce, local MP Drew Hendry, Highland Council, Scottish Council for Development and Industry and VisitScotland have all welcomed the announcement.

So why the big fuss over BA's announcement?

Business leaders and politicians in the Highlands have been calling for Inverness to be reconnected to Heathrow ever since the last service ended in 1997.

A survey of more than 290 businesses in the Highlands and Islands in 2013 suggested Heathrow remained a key destination.

Business people in the region told the survey that they travelled to airports in Aberdeen, Glasgow or Edinburgh so they could fly to Heathrow for meetings in London and south east of England.

The survey's respondents, however, said this did not mean they wanted to see the loss of Inverness' links to Gatwick.

Also in the background to Wednesday's announcement, is a sense that the Highlands' connections to London have more often been at risk than safe.

Two years ago, Flybe's decision to sell its departure and arrival slots at Gatwick raised fears about the future of that link.

Easyjet eventually took the slots over in a £20m and introduced new flights on the route.

And earlier this year Flybe suspended flights between Inverness and London City Airport due to lack of demand.

For those campaigning for the re-establishment of services to Heathrow it has been a long haul, and their relief was palpable in the air this morning.

Mr Hendry said: "Connecting the Highlands and Islands to international hubs, like Heathrow, will bring real benefits to our economy and for our people.

"The economic boost for the business community will be significant as will the very positive impact on our thriving tourism sector."

A spokesperson for Heathrow Airport said it was an important development for Heathrow and Inverness.

The spokesperson said: "We're delighted that Inverness will now get all of the benefits that connecting to the UK's only hub provides.

"When the city lost its hub connection, the North of Scotland saw its global connectivity severely reduced and the region has been fighting to re-establish it ever since.

"Heathrow is one of only six airports in the world with over 50 long-haul destinations - reconnecting to Heathrow will give a huge boost to Inverness and the North of Scotland, opening up lucrative trade routes and driving the inbound tourism and foreign investment that will create local jobs."

The Scottish Council for Development and Industry said studies suggested at least 70,000 passengers per annum were lost from Inverness Airport through the lack of a direct link to Heathrow.

Inverness Airport did have a link with London City Airport, but Flybe suspended the service in February this year due to lack of demand.