Air routes boost for Scotland

Last updated at 09:15 02 July 2003


Scottish travellers will benefit from four new air routes flying from Edinburgh as part of a new scheme to open up European air links to Scotland.

£6.8 million has been injected into the Executive project to encourage airlines to fly to and from Scotland in exchange for lower landing fees.

Duo airways will open the new routes to Milan, Geneva, Oslo and Zurich from October. The airline currently flies to 14 European destinations from Birmingham.

Organisers have been criticised for excluding Glasgow's airport from the project as the city has helped to fund the campaign.

Edinburgh and Prestwick have so far reaped all the benefits of the scheme with routes to Jersey and Cologne, and Barcelona and Skavsta, Stockholm respectively, already announced in March this year.

Of the latest routes, Transport Minister Nicol Stephen said: 'This is very good news for Scotland. Good air links are vital for our tourism industry and for the development of our wider economy.

'All four of these new destinations are blue chip European destinations and will provide an important boost to Scotland's business, conference and tourism traffic.

'Direct links from Scotland mean we can seize new opportunities and speed up travel times to key destinations.'

Mr Stephen also insisted: 'We support all Scotland's airports. Negotiations and discussions with airlines and operators will continue in order that all our airports can become major tourist and business gateways.

'We want to ensure that we make the most of the opportunities and the economic benefits that increased passenger demand will bring to Scotland.'

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