Risk worth taking

GOOD news indeed comes winging its way to Inverness Airport today — in the shape of the new direct service being launched by Flybe to Amsterdam.

A scheduled service to Europe has been a key goal of Highlands and Islands Airports (HIA) for many years, especially with the demise of the area’s link to Heathrow which was axed three years ago.

The Inverness Heathrow route was controversially dropped by British Airways in 1996 and although Bmi introduced a once-a-day service in 2004, that was axed in 2008.

Anyone who now wants to travel from Inverness to Heathrow, to link up with a range of international destinations, has to catch a flight to Gatwick and then make a 90-minute bus or train journey to the airport.

No wonder business leaders, the region’s tourist industry and politicians are all welcoming this exciting European route against the backdrop of an economy in desperate need of any new development or expansion.

However, Inverness has not had a good history of maintaining a direct route to Europe.

In 2004 budget airline Snowflake introduced twice weekly flights between Inverness and Stockholm — the first European schedule service for the airport.

However, just four months after the launch, the plug was pulled on the service.

At the time, Snowflake said it had over-estimated likely demand — passenger numbers between Stockholm and Inverness were not proving economical for the size of plane operating on the route.

But hopes have always been high of resurrecting a service to Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport which briefly operated in 1998 and 2001 and it cannot be seen as anything other than a great boost for the region with direct access to 310 destinations on a daily basis.

It must be remembered the Highland Capital has many world-wide operating businesses in need of such a service, from Alan Savage’s Orion Group, to Global Highland and Lifescan.

And, the opportunity for bringing in more tourists, for helping the expansion of the University of the Highlands and Islands and even attracting new companies to use, for instance, Inverness Airport Business Park, cannot be under-estimated.

Our businesses are at the leading edge of growth industries like renewable energy, food and drink and life sciences.

And, with the population and visitor numbers also expected to increase significantly, we need to be globally connected to achieve our full economic potential.

A service which allows passengers to drop off their luggage in Inverness and then next pick it up in places such as Abu Dhabi, Tokyo, Beijing and Kiev cannot be bad.

Schiphol is a major world hub airport and that leaves Inverness just one flight away from anywhere in the world.

HIA managing director Inglis Lyon admits it is a risk introducing the service from September, but we are sure that it is a risk worth taking for the future of the city.