Edinburgh's first direct flight to Washington DC takes off

The capital cities of Scotland and the USA are now directly connected for the first time after the opening of a new air route between Edinburgh and Washington D.C.

United Airlines flight UA147 took off from the Capital this afternoon after an inaugural ceremony including music, cakes, gifts for passengers and bagpipes for a traditional Scottish welcome and send off.

The daily service to Washington Dulles will operate on a Boeing 757-200 and will depart Edinburgh at 1230, landing at 1530 local time. It will operate until the 4th of October.

United Airlines inaugural flight from Edinburgh Airport to Washington, DC. Picture: Lesley Martin

The service connects Edinburgh to 63 North American destinations via United’s Washington Dulles Airport hub, such as Orlando, Las Vegas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tampa and Denver.

United launched Edinburgh-New York flights in 2004 but now competes with Delta and American Airlines, and budget airline Norwegian launched flights to nearby airports in June. The airline has also operated summer flights between the Scottish capital and Chicago since 2014.

Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport, said:

“This fantastic addition to Edinburgh Airport will link our two capital cities for the first time and strengthen the already strong links between Scotland and America.

“We know that Edinburgh and Scotland are a huge draw for inbound tourists and we look forward to welcoming and showing them the fantastic sights and history that we have.

“We fly to more than 150 destinations worldwide and we’re always looking to establish new direct links to destinations across the globe and offer greater choice to the 13.4 million people who travel through Scotland’s busiest airport ever year.”