Regional carrier, Flybe has announced a new route from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to Edinburgh commencing in later October.

This will be the airline’s fourth route from Liverpool, and will complement Flybe’s existing services to the Isle of Man, Belfast City and Amsterdam which commences on September 7, 2015.

In addition, the airline is committing to further expansion from Liverpool by increasing capacity to both Belfast City and the Isle of Man with an additional daily departure to both destinations. Overall, the Isle of Man will see four daily departures while Belfast City will see five daily departures, taking the total number of flights to and from Liverpool by Flybe to 150 per week.

Edinburgh will be Liverpool John Lennon’s first service to Scotland in almost ten years, and is expected to be popular with both leisure and business travellers.

LJLA chief executive Andrew Cornish said: “This time last year Flybe only operated to the Isle of Man from Liverpool, but over the past 12 months we have worked closely with the airline to explore a number of opportunities and we are naturally delighted that their operations from here are going from strength to strength.”

Flybe’s Chief Commercial Officer, Paul Simmons said that the airline is committed to bolstering regional connectivity across the UK and into Europe.

“We are naturally delighted to be extending further the Flybe presence at Liverpool John Lennon Airport and look forward to welcoming on board many new passengers in the upcoming months,” he added.

Marketing Liverpool director, Chris Brown said that a direct air link to Scotland and Edinburgh is a really valuable addition to the Liverpool city region as it reflects the requests for the connection from business leaders.

“Aside from the significant boost this will provide for our visitor economy, it will also support our inward investment aspirations, particularly with it being launched in advance of next year’s International Festival for Business 2016,” he added.

Flybe has also announced a new Glasgow to Exeter link to its 2015/16 winter programme, which will operate four-times-weekly.

As well as being a good service to the south-west coast of England for Scottish businesses – particularly in the marine sector, the new link will offer a crucial link to tourist destinations such as Torquay, Plymouth and Penzance.