Finnair has  celebrated its inaugural flight between Edinburgh Airport and Helsinki. The journey — which takes less than three hours — allows passengers from Asia to take the shortcut to Scotland with just one smooth and fast transfer via the Finnish capital.

Finnair now operates three flights a week between the two capitals using a 138-seat Airbus A319 aircraft in a dual business and economy class configuration. To offer summer travellers even greater flexibility when flying with Finnair, a fourth-weekly flight will operate on Wednesdays between 22nd June and 10th August 2016.

Chief Executive of VisitScotland, Malcolm Roughead, welcomed the launch of the Finnair service:

– We are delighted to welcome this exciting new Finnair service between Edinburgh and Helsinki which builds on the success of Scotland’s growing global air network by connecting to yet another international hub.

– The service brings with it the opportunity for a double boost to Scottish tourism, from the high spending golf fans from the Nordic region seeking to explore the Home of Golf, to the growing market of new visitors from the Far East.”