Closing the connectivity gap

Improving Scotland’s global reach

There’s never been a better time – or more ways – to come to Scotland. With a wave of new routes and increased capacity, our connectivity from key markets has never been stronger.

Making it easier for visitors to reach us helps make Scotland a must-visit, must-return destination.

As an island, we rely on good connectivity. Not only does this support our tourism and events industry, it also helps business connectivity and the transfer of goods.

But creating this strong air network doesn’t happen overnight. Behind every new route lies years of planning, partnership and persistence. We’ve been working at the heart of this effort – part of a long-standing and coordinated drive, in partnership with the Scottish Government, Transport Scotland, Scottish Development International (SDI) - supporting Scotland’s airports in their work to improve Scotland’s global reach.

A climate for opportunity

The current market dynamic in North America and appetite for travel from the US and Canada has undoubtedly created the right climate for expansion, but it’s that sustained collaborative effort, including our investment in relationships and market presence that’s helped ensure that Scotland was front of mind when the opportunity came.

Our successful and wide-reaching marketing strategy has helped support the efforts of our partners and today we’re seeing real success in new and expanded routes – especially across North America, but also more broadly across the network.

Each route secured is a win not just for inbound tourism, but for Scotland’s wider economy – improving business connectivity, enabling exports, and supporting inward investment.

Building on big wins

Over the years, we’ve supported the launch of several routes – from major Middle Eastern hub connections to transatlantic services with major airlines like United and Delta, as well as low-cost carriers that have opened up Scotland to new audiences.

This year, Scotland is enjoying more airline capacity from North America in spring / summer 2025 than ever before, with more than 100,000 additional seats from the US to Scotland and 10,000 extra seats from Canada compared to 2024

Recent highlights include:

US
- JetBlue adding a Boston – Edinburgh route, complementing its New York service
- American Airlines relaunched its Philadelphia – Edinburgh route,
- United Airlines has announced extending it Washington DC – Edinburgh flights into winter
Canada
- Air Canada launches Montreal – Edinburgh in June
- WestJet continues direct service from Calgary, Toronto, and Halifax
Asia and the Middle East
- Hainan Airlines will operate Beijing – Edinburgh year-round from October
- Emirates last year resumed its daily Dubai – Edinburgh flights alongside its long-standing Glasgow service
- Qatar Airways maintains its daily Doha – Edinburgh service
Europe
- the launch of Austrian Airlines’ Vienna - Edinburgh route completes the ‘Lufthansa family connections’ available across Edinburgh and Glasgow airports
- KLM continues to serve four Scotland gateways, including year-round Amsterdam – Inverness flights, providing point to point and global connections into the heart of the Highlands

New routes remain a major strategic focus, particularly in markets where we’ve seen opportunity but limited access.

For years, we've been collaborating to close the connectivity gap – not just for visitors, but for trade and talent too.

A key priority now is to build on the routes we already have. That means working with our airline partners to grow seasonality – extending routes beyond the summer months, encouraging year-round service, and expanding into more of Scotland’s gateways.

Tail of an easyJet plane. Credit: Carole Bold

Looking ahead: investing in autumn and winter growth

We’re now turning our marketing focus to highlighting Scotland’s accessibility through the shoulder and winter seasons. That includes investing in a major new campaign to target autumn and winter visitors in key markets.

With additional funding secured to do just that, we’ll be highlighting Scotland’s renowned offering and unmissable experiences, and helping ensure the success of these services and the continued growth of international tourism to Scotland.