The UK Government was urged last night to follow through on a clear policy statement supporting the need for regional airports such as Inverness to have direct access to Heathrow.
Ministers told the Commons transport committee that plans to improve high-speed rail services were “unlikely” to be sufficient to meet the need for links to a hub with connecting flights around the world.
The government was replying to the committee’s report recommending the go-ahead for a third runway at Heathrow, partly to provide the capacity to continue to receive flights from more remote regions of the UK.
BA axed direct flights between Inverness and Heathrow years ago, substituting first its own and then an allied airline’s flights to Gatwick instead.
In a formal reply, the government told the committee it agreed all airports needed good rail links and it was considering whether a high-speed line to the north, eventually to Scotland, should run via Heathrow. An announcement is due by the end of this month.
It said it was keen to see the number of passengers on domestic flights reduced, with more using trains “as rail services become better and faster”.
However, it added: “It is unrealistic to expect that rail can provide an alternative to internal flights in every case, particularly where passengers are connecting on to international flights.
“Ultimately, it is for airlines to decide what air services they operate – and from which airports – based on commercial considerations and market conditions, and for passengers to choose the best mode of travel for their journey.”
The committee report said: “High-speed rail is unlikely to replace all UK domestic flights, especially east-west links between regions and flights to Northern Ireland and the Scottish Highlands.”
Inverness Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stewart Nicol said comments recognising the needs of the Highlands and the importance to the Highland business community of a link to Heathrow were “encouraging”.
It was accepted that airports such as Inverness should be connected to Heathrow, he said, but added: “We would like to see this assertion in its own right rather than as a postscript in a report on another matter.”
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Liberal Democrat MP Danny Alexander said he did not agree with a third Heathrow runway because slots could be reserved at the airport without it for flights from Inverness.
He said: “While these further warm words are welcome, they will only mean something if the government takes action to ensure Inverness is guaranteed connections to the Heathrow hub.”