THE number of British Airways flights between Edinburgh and London's Heathrow airport could be cut, the Evening News has learned.
The shuttle service is said to be under threat because of pressure on landing slots from the more lucrative longer-haul flights at the congested Heathrow.
With the slots now trading between airlines for millions of pounds, sources in the aviation
industry have told the Evening News BA is looking to cut down on the 11 daily return flights it runs between Edinburgh and Heathrow before the end of this year.
The news comes just days after BA announced it was axing its early morning service from Glasgow to Heathrow from October.
The airline denied it had plans to cut services between Edinburgh and Heathrow but said routes were under constant review.
Business leaders warned any reduction in the number of flights to Heathrow would threaten jobs and economic growth in the Capital. Graham Birse, of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: "Clearly these slots at Heathrow are at a premium and a 737 coming from Edinburgh is of less value to BA than a 747 coming from, say, Bangalore.
"But the importance of the shuttle service – particularly the early morning flights – to Edinburgh's economy cannot be underestimated.
"The financial services sector in particular relies on these flights, and if you take them away then this will definitely impact on the city's competitiveness. We need the Scottish Government to lead a much stronger defence of these landing slots."
Edinburgh Airport is now Scotland's busiest, carrying more than nine million passengers a year.
The growth has been achieved thanks to a massive expansion of direct international links from the Capital. In contrast, the number of people flying within the UK has dropped, with the airport recording a 5 per cent fall in passenger numbers on domestic services in the past year.
An airport spokesman said: "We have always recognised the strategic importance of Heathrow and its links to Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland.
"The shuttle services to London are significant economic links for Edinburgh and should not be taken for granted."
Including flights to Gatwick and London City, there are just over 300 British Airways services between London airports and Edinburgh each week.
The full article contains 383 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
