Scotland to London BA flights cut

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/north_east/7537178.stm

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British Airways is to reduce the number of flights from Scotland to London.

The frequency of services from Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh will fall by an average of about 6%.

It includes dozens of flights between Aberdeen and Heathrow being cancelled from its winter schedule, which runs from October to March.

BA has blamed a doubling of fuel costs for a sharp profits fall, saying the airline industry faced the "worst trading environment ever".

The carrier made pre-tax profits of £37m in the three months to the end of June compared with £298m a year earlier - an 88% drop.

'Less attractive'

Colin Borland, of the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland, said: "I appreciate that we're looking at a tough trading year ahead.

"But is making it more difficult to do business south of the border or making Scotland a less attractive, less convenient destination for UK tourists going to make conditions better or worse?

"Scotland's poor transport links with the rest of the UK are already putting us at a competitive disadvantage."

He added: "Fewer domestic flights will make us a less attractive destination and will make life even more difficult for small tourism businesses."