Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Scrapping of Inverness to London flights a “body blow” to Highlands

Inverness to London service
Inverness to London service

A decision by Flybe to scrap its flights between Inverness and London has been described as a “body blow to the Highlands”.

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP David Stewart, recently appointed shadow minister for transport, said the loss of the route would be particularly damaging to businesses, while Inverness Provost Alex Graham said he hoped a replacement operator would step in.

Flybe, Europe’s biggest regional budget airline, said it was suspending its Inverness to London City flights because of lower than anticipated passenger numbers.

They will cease from Sunday, February 22, just four months after the service was introduced on October 27, 2014.

Flybe also announced it was planning to increase flight numbers from Edinburgh to London City to six per day.

The firm closed its Inverness base in 2013 as part of cost-cutting drive which resulted in the loss of 35 local jobs.

The north-east also suffered with the closure of the Aberdeen base and the loss of 12 jobs.

In November 2014 Flybe announced that about 100 jobs would be brought into Aberdeen due to the re-opening of its base there, however the Inverness base which Mr Stewart campaigned to retain, remains closed.

Last night, he said it was “extremely disappointing” that Flybe had decided to slash the daily Inverness to London City service.

“The route was hailed locally by many as a huge boost for the Highland economy, and was praised in particular by those in the local business community who recognised the commercial potential opened up by this service,” said Mr Stewart.

“Maintaining regional air connectivity – both domestic and international – is vital to supporting the economy of the Highlands and Islands through bringing in business investment and supporting the tourist industry. The loss of the service will be a blow to both.”

A Flybe spokeswoman said: “Flybe constantly reviews its schedule as part of its disciplined approach to growth.

“As a result, Flybe is regrettably suspending its Inverness to London City service with effect from Sunday, February 22, due to lower than anticipated passenger numbers.”

Mr Graham said: “It is very disappointing for Inverness that this has been decided because connectivity to London is vital to us as a city centre and for the Highlands in general.

“It does come as a surprise and a disappointment and I just hope that a suitable substitute can be brought in.”