The inaugural flight between Inverness and Newcastle International Airport takes off today, Monday 5th June, and is already attracting strong interest from business and leisure travellers according to the route’s operator Eastern Airways.

The weekday flights will be operated by Jetstream 41 aircraft, with flights departing Inverness at 11.45am and Newcastle at 10.05am. The new route takes Eastern Airways’ number of destinations served from Inverness to four with the other locations being Birmingham, Leeds/Bradford and Manchester.

The new route has qualified for support from the Scottish Executive’s Route Development which aims to improve business connectivity by air and increase inbound tourism to Scotland.

Graeme Ross, Eastern Airways’ Scotland director, said: “Both Inverness and Newcastle have burgeoning economies with there being strong links through industries such as IT, finance and renewable energy. Our service will hopefully ensure these links are developed further and open the door for other business related connections to be made.

“Both regions also have a great deal to offer the leisure market and we are already experiencing strong passenger figures on the route from this sector.”

Inglis Lyon, managing director of Highlands and Islands Airports, said: “This is the first direct air link between the capital of the Highlands and north-east England and is a very welcome development by Eastern. It connects two strong regional economies and also opens up opportunities for people in the Highlands to visit the fantastic city of Newcastle for business and leisure. They will also be able to access a range of onward flight connections from the airport.

“The Scottish Executive’s Route Development Fund has again assisted us in securing this important new route to improve air connectivity for business and inbound tourism in the Highlands.”

Online fares on the new service, which will be operated by Jetstream 41 aircraft, will start at £99 return (www.easternairways.com), including taxes and charges.