British Airways set to reduce flights from Inverness to London Heathrow this summer

British Airways are reducing the number of flights on its Inverness to London Heathrow route this summer.

The airline said it is merging some low occupancy flights where possible in response to “challenging times for the entire industry”.

At present, passengers are able to fly from Inverness to Heathrow at 7am and return the same evening – however the early morning is set to be removed this summer.

The aviation industry has lost more than £145bn and an estimated 4 million jobs since the start of the pandemic.

Highlands and Islands Airport Limited (HIAL) which operates Inverness airport said the removal of the popular route appeared to be a temporary adjustment, and were hopeful it would be reinstated “as soon as it is feasible”.

A BA spokesman said: “The past few weeks have been challenging for the entire industry and at British Airways we’re completely focused on three priorities: our customers, supporting the biggest recruitment drive in our history and increasing our operational resilience.

“We’ve taken action to reduce our schedule to help provide certainty for our customers and are giving them maximum flexibility to either rebook with us or another airline as close to their original departure time as possible, or to receive a full refund.”

Inverness airport general manager Graeme Bell, said: “This appears to be a temporary adjustment to the schedule and is an operational decision by BA.

“Although we have been generally pleased that the aviation sector has re-emerged quite strongly from the pandemic there remain challenges for airlines as demand for travel has picked up.

“The Heathrow-Inverness link remains a popular route and we are hopeful BA will reinstate the 7am Heathrow flight as soon as it is feasible to do so.“