In the late 1970s and early 1980s there were two daily flights between Inverness and Heathrow; however, the route was discontinued in 1983 on the grounds of poor financial performance.

The airline sustained the route adding links to London-Gatwick and Manchester in the late 1980s; however, these new services proved not to be successful and were discontinued.

[citation needed] When Dan Air was bought by British Airways in 1992, the flag carrier retained the service for a further five years, adding a fourth daily frequency shortly before withdrawing the link, amid considerable controversy and public anger,[citation needed] in autumn 1997.

British Airways transferred the London service to Gatwick, operated by its subsidiary on a three-times daily basis using lower capacity BAe 146 regional jets.

Other destinations and airlines were added including; (Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle), particularly after 2003, where HIAL's marketing efforts were assisted by route development fund support from the Scottish Executive.

Since 1974, Inverness has been serviced weekly by non-commercial routes with Lorient (the 1st fishing port of France[19]) in South Brittany.

In June 2017 Thomson Holidays returned with peak seasonal flights to Palma once more, using a chartered Air Europa Boeing 737-800.

A four-times-weekly service to Dublin was operated by Aer Arann between 2006 and 2008, before being withdrawn owing to escalating fuel prices.

[30] In anticipation of the greatly increased passenger capacity, HIAL announced a major expansion of the terminal building.

Plans include extending runway 05/23 by 323 metres (1,060 ft) and construction of a new passenger terminal adjacent to the then proposed Inverness Airport railway station.

[38] Highlands and Islands Airports have proposed the rebuilding of the terminal to accommodate a projected increase in passenger numbers to 1.8 million by 2045.

The most expensive option, priced at between £34 and £55 million, would involve relocating the terminal buildings such that they are adjacent to the planned Dalcross railway station.

[39] The Scottish Greens criticised the proposals, suggesting that the existing airport was adequate and that money should be invested in improving rail and bus links in the region instead.

[52] In May 2021 Highland Council granted planning permission to Network Rail for a new two-platform station at the airport, but expressed reservations as a level crossing would be replaced with a bridge inaccessible to disabled people.

[54] The airport is 7 NM (13 km; 8.1 mi) northeast[1] of the city of Inverness just off the main A96 Aberdeen-Inverness trunk road.

Permanently closed from October 2019 with the aircraft sold on, XK532 remains on site with a more recent addition of Jet Provost T5A XW375.