The first flight on the new Delta Airlines New York JFK – Edinburgh route landed at Edinburgh airport at the beginning of May.

Delta announced this new route late last year and it is an excellent addition to the direct access flights available between Scotland and North America.

VisitScotland Edinburgh Tourist Information Centre and Ocean Point staff were on hand to distribute welcome bags to the passengers and a piper played popular Scottish tunes to provide that extra special touch and a true welcome to Scotland.

Susan Russell, PR Executive for North America, Australasia, had the opportunity to talk to some of the cabin crew on the outbound flight later on that morning and they were delighted and thrilled to have the opportunity to be part of the new route. She said: "They were incredibly enthusiastic about Scotland and vowed to pass on this enthusiasm to all incoming passengers over the following months."

Delta’s new daily nonstop service between New York-JFK and Edinburgh will be operated using a Boeing 757-200 ETOPS aircraft with up to 16 seats in their BusinessElite class and 158 seats in economy.

Further information on all direct flights available into Scotland is available from visitscotland.com.