New direct flight to New York

The new Delta Air Lines flight to New York starts on Friday

The launch of a new direct flight from Edinburgh to the US has been hailed by tourism bosses.

Delta Air Lines will begin a daily service from Edinburgh Airport to New York's JFK International Airport from Friday.

The airline said the new route was launched to meet customer demand.

Travellers flying from Edinburgh will benefit from up to 36 connections throughout the United States, including Latin America and the Caribbean.

Denise Hill, of VisitScotland welcomed the move. She said: "Delta's new flight offers us a great opportunity to position Scotland as a must visit, must return destination in our biggest international tourism market."

Key gateway

Armin Venencie, Delta's UK commercial director, said: "We are delighted to offer our customers from Scotland the opportunity to fly non-stop to New York, the world's largest travel market and leading financial centre."

David Johnson, managing director of Edinburgh Airport, said the new service was a "fantastic addition" to the airport's route network.

He added: "As well as being a key gateway to the US, JFK is a major hub and offers a huge number of onward connections.

"We are confident this route will prove very popular with both business and leisure passengers."

A number of other airlines currently operate direct routes from Scotland to the USA.

Continental Airlines runs flights from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Newark Airport, while US Airways operates services between Glasgow and Philadelphia.

Virgin Atlantic and FlyGlobespan also offer flights to Florida from Glasgow.