Eastern Airways is launching two new routes from Inverness and Dundee to Manchester in north-west England effective 4 November. Flights will operate three times daily, Monday to Friday, with BAE Jetstream 32 aircraft. With aircraft overnighting in both Inverness and Dundee, the early morning departures offer Scottish-originating travellers some good onward connections from Manchester. The timings connect, for example, with departures to Copenhagen, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, and Gothenberg, as well as US cities, Chicago, New York and Washington DC.

Eastern, which operates from Manchester Airport’s Terminal 3, also serves Manchester-Norwich, three times daily, Monday to Friday. The new Inverness and Dundee services complement a growing Scottish network operated by the independently-owned niche domestic airline. In Scotland, Eastern Airways serves Edinburgh-Norwich and Humberside and from Aberdeen, to Humberside, Norwich, Teesside and Wick.

Timetable for the new departures. Services operated Monday to Friday.

Departures           Arrivals           Departures       Arrivals

0840                   1015                0620               0755

1355                   1530                1145              1320

1825                   2000                1620              1755

"It has long been our wish to start these services from Inverness and Dundee to Manchester, the UK’s third largest airport," commented Eastern Managing Director, Richard Lake. "We are also proud to be expanding the number of regional destinations offered by air from the British Isles," he added.

Bob Macleod, Managing Director of HIAL, said: "I am delighted to see Eastern Airways expanding its operations north of the border with the launch of this new service linking Inverness and Manchester. This service will provide an extremely important transport link for Inverness. I am sure that it will prove to be popular with both the general travelling public and business users with obvious benefits for tourism and the economy as a whole in the Highlands."

The announcement was welcomed by Bill Sylvester, chief executive of Inverness and Nairn Enterprise, who is currently on secondment to lead Inverness and the Highlands’ bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2008.

"Inverness Airport is an important regional transport hub and this new scheduled service will be a boon to businesses across a wide area, not just those based in the city," said Mr Sylvester.

"Improved connections will also help to strengthen the Capital of Culture bid, so the announcement could not have come at a better time."