Stewart Stevenson, the Transport Minister, is urging airline bmi to reconsider its decision to close Inverness's last direct link to Heathrow.

Mr Stevenson is seeking an urgent meeting with the company to discuss its proposals to pull out of the Inverness to Heathrow route, less than four years after it started.

Against a backdrop of considerable pressure for landing slots at Heathrow, bmi announced yesterday flights will cease at the end of March.

The company said it had been forced to take the decision because there had been insufficient demand but the news has been condemned by Danny Alexander, LibDem MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey.

The MP said: "This decision closes off Inverness's last link to Heathrow. Bmi has repaid the loyalty of its Inverness customer base with a slap in the face. The decision is a direct result of the EU-US open skies agreement which comes into force in March. I warned the UK Transport Minister this was a likely consequence of the government's policy, yet they have failed to lift a finger to protect this route.

"Protecting the links from Inverness to Gatwick is now even more essential. Flybe and easyJet have made strong commitments to running these services and they must be sustained. Maintaining the link is critical for the success of the Highland economy."

Inglis Lyon, managing director of Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL), said: "Regaining a Heathrow link at Inverness was a real coup in 2004 and bucked the industry trend.

"However congestion at Heathrow and the value of slots has now taken its toll and the economics of the situation make long-haul services a far more attractive bet for airlines.

"This news strengthens the case for our region and other UK regions to support the current expansion plans at Heathrow since additional runway capacity will be essential if regional links are ever to be reinstated."

Donald MacNeill of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, said: "It's obviously disappointing that we are to lose this service. However it's a commercial decision which reflects the intense pressure for landing slots at Heathrow."

Peter Spencer, bmi managing director, said: "We are very disappointed that there has been insufficient demand to operate a viable operation on this route, but load factors have not been sufficiently high enough to sustain the service."