Airline reaffirms its commitment to London route
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An airline has expressed it commitment to routes linking the Highlands and London days after one of its competitors announced it would suspend some of its services.
Flights to and from Inverness to Gatwick and Luton will continue to be provided by easyJet until 24th October at least.
The assurance comes after Flybe announced it would suspend its flights linking Inverness and London City from 22nd February – just a few months after the link was launched in October last year.
Lower than expected passenger numbers were the reason for Flybe’s decision.
A spokesman for easyJet said: "easyJet remains committed to serving Inverness offering customers low fares and a convenient schedule for both leisure and business travellers. easyJet offers double daily services to London Gatwick, including an early morning departure, along with a daily service to London Luton."
Last March, easyJet started its new Inverness/Gatwick services.
Similar weekday services were previously operated by Flybe and are widely viewed as vital to the north economy due to the lack of any other high-speed links connecting the cities.
Stewart Nicol, chief executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce, described easyJet’s commitment as excellent news.
He said: "This is particularly welcome given recent developments relating to Inverness’s air connections with London.
"Good transport connectivity within the UK and beyond is vital for the ongoing development of the city of Inverness and the whole of the Highland region.
"As there are only a few direct transport links between Inverness and London, it is important for the Highland business community that these routes remain secure."
Flybe sold its 25 pairs of runway slots at Gatwick to easyJet for £20 million in 2013.
It prompted business leaders, politicians and the wider community to unify efforts to keep the north connected to London, with campaigns showing easyJet there was an appetite for the flights to be retained.
The landing and departure times at Gatwick could have been used by easyJet – which already operated flights linking Inverness to Gatwick and Luton – for other flights.
But easyJet moved swiftly to end any uncertainty when it announced plans to enhance connections between Inverness and London as part of a five-year deal.
A spokesman for Highlands and Islands Airports (HIAL), which operates Inverness Airport, said: "The loss of London City flights is obviously disappointing but Inverness remains well connected to London with regular flights to Gatwick and Luton, both of which offer a wide range of international connections, with Gatwick in particular providing strong long-haul connectivity.
"The issue of regional air links into London is of critical importance and will come to a head this year with the publication of the Airports Commission report. HIAL is currently considering its final response to the commission."
A second runway at Gatwick is among the options shortlisted by the Airports Commission that is set to report its assessment of additional UK airport capacity to the UK Government this summer.
Flybe’s announcement came after it increased its presence at Inverness with the launch of new Dublin flights, a third daily flight link with Manchester and new winter flights to Geneva. Flybe also announced it would increase services linking London City and Edinburgh and Belfast City airports.
