Low fares airline Ryanair today announced that it will launch flights between Inverness and Nottingham East Midlands airports in February 2007.
The new Nottingham service will start flying on 26th February 2007 with three flights a week. Single fares from Inverness to Nottingham on the www.ryanair.com website will start from £2.99, exclusive of taxes and charges. Flights will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, departing Nottingham at 1300, arriving at Inverness at 1420, departing Inverness at 1445 and arriving at Nottingham at 1605.
The new route has qualified for support from the Scottish Executive’s Route Development Fund which aims to improve direct air links between Scotland and other UK and international destinations.
Nottingham will be the seventh new route to come on stream at Inverness in the 2006/07 operating year following the introduction of services to Dublin, Leeds Bradford, Newcastle and Benbecula earlier this year. Most recently Ryanair launched its Liverpool service on 3rd October and Flybe will launch flights between Inverness and Belfast City Airport on 16th December.
Inverness was the fastest growing airport in Scotland in 2004 and 2005 and now handles more than 330 scheduled flights a week to destinations including Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, Manchester, Dublin, Edinburgh, Benbecula, Stornoway, Kirkwall and Sumburgh. Most recently Ryanair launched its Liverpool service on 3rd October and Flybe will launch flights between Inverness and Belfast City Airport on 16th December.
In the first five months of the 2006/07 operating year, to the end of August 2006, the airport has recorded a 12% increase in passengers compared to last year. The airport handled a record 666,000 passengers last year and is on target to approach 800,000 in the year ending March 2007.
The announcement comes just two days after the start of the new daily Ryanair service from Inverness to Liverpool. Ryanair expects to carry over 40,000 passengers on the new service to Nottingham in the first year of operation, bringing the total number of Ryanair passengers at Inverness to 140,000 per annum.
Commenting on Ryanair's expansion at Inverness, Caroline Baldwin, Ryanair's Sales & Marketing Manager for the UK, said: "We are delighted to announce our new Inverness-Nottingham service today which will continue the revolution in air travel in the Highlands by providing a fast and cheap link to our Nottingham East Midlands base with twenty-seven destinations around Europe.
"In addition, thousands of tourists and business passengers from England's East Midlands can now access Inverness and the Highlands at Europe's lowest air fares.
"Not only is this great news for passengers, but it is also a major boost for business and tourism in the Inverness region which will now enjoy an upsurge in year-round visitors from England. The two new routes will support 140 jobs in the region and deliver a visitor spend of £10 million per annum.
"This expansion at Inverness will be achieved through Ryanair's $210 investment in 3 additional new aircraft based in NEMA. These aircraft are equipped with all of the latest technological advances in engine type, aerodynamics and blended winglets which ensure maximum fuel efficiency and have allowed Ryanair to reduce fuel burn by 45%, cut CO2 emissions by 50% per seat and reduce noise by 50%.
"To celebrate the launch of the new route, Ryanair is offering fares from just £2.99 available for immediate booking on www.ryanair.com and we urge all passengers to book straight away as demand for fares this low will be huge."
Inverness Airport manager James Walton said: “This is excellent news for the Highlands. Ryanair is opening up a new destination with onward travel opportunities for local residents while creating a new channel for visitors to come into the region.
“We are delighted to see Ryanair already expanding its operations at Inverness and that the Route Development Fund has once again played an important role in delivering a new air link for the region.
“Air services are crucial to this area’s future economic prosperity and population growth. The ongoing development of the airports is therefore a top priority for us,” said Mr Walton.
Stuart Black, chief executive of HIE Inverness & East Highland said: “This is fantastic news for the region as the expanding range of air connections available at Inverness make this area more attractive to inward investors and enable local businesses to reach new markets.
“It is very encouraging to see Ryanair, the airport’s newest operator, already expanding the range of destinations it offers from Inverness. This development underpins the airport’s objective of reaching annual throughput of one million passengers by 2010 and will ensure it fulfils an increasingly important economic and social role in the years ahead.”
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