Skiers in the north will this winter be able to fly direct from Inverness to a former Olympic ski resort in the Alps.
UK-based ski holiday specialists Inghams will operate two charter flights from the Highland capital to the Innsbruk for the first time on Saturday, March 26 and April 2, in 2016.
The Austrian city – twice chosen as the location for the Winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976 – serves as a gateway to 30 high altitude ski resorts in Italy and Austria.
Popular retreats include St Anton, which offers some of Europe’s most challenging slopes, to the charm and romance of Kitzbuhel with its medieval centre, upmarket boutiques and cafes, to the party resort of Ischgl, famed for its nightlife and A- list celebrity concerts.
A Highlands and Islands Airports Limited spokesman also said that the hope is to expand the Innsbruk service in the future if the Austrian Airlines flights prove popular.
Inghams will also offer weekly departures from Inverness to Geneva with holiday packages to 20 high altitude resorts in France and Switzerland. Flights will leave every Saturday from December 26 this year and run for 15 weeks.
Ski holidays booked before 30 September this year include a free ski carriage. Inghams is also offering flight only deals for those who book accommodation separately.
Graeme Bell, general manager of Inverness Airport, said: “We are delighted that Inghams, one of the UK’s best known ski specialists, is offering new ski flights from Inverness this winter. Innsbruck is a first for Inverness Airport and we hope the new route will prove popular so that we can expand the programme and offer even more departures in future years. Geneva has been a welcome addition to our route network over the past two years and we are pleased that Inghams will continue to operate this service.”
A spokesman from Cairngorm Mountain ski centre, near Aviemore, said: “We are not concerned about the business impact. There are two separate markets for home and abroad. We are a very domestic market. The skiing areas in Scotland tend to be visited by people skiing for a few days, whereas those that holiday abroad tend to go away for a week or so.
“The flipside of this is that Aviemore has also benefited from better access as well. It’s now possible to get an overnight sleeper train from London and be ready to ski at 7am the next day. There are not many places like that.”