BRITISH Airways is to launch a further service between Edinburgh and London City airports next summer, meaning passengers will have the choice of up to 25 daily flights between the capitals.

The operator will begin running up to nine return flights a day between ­Edinburgh and London City, located in the Docklands area, from May.

The service is particularly important for business ­travellers seeking the ­quickest and most direct connection into London.

The additional frequency will coincide with new routes from London City to European destinations including Rotterdam and Florence, and additional services to Amsterdam and Zurich.

The announcement comes just weeks after City Jet, a subsidiary of Air France, scrapped its services between Edinburgh and London City, describing the route as "not commericially viable". The decision left BA with a monopoly over the route.

Its only other competitors on Edinburgh to London services are now easyJet, which also fly to Gatwick, and Virgin, which has been operating its new domestic service, Little Red, between Edinburgh and Heathrow since March. BA operates up to 12 return flights a day between Edinburgh and Heathrow, four to and from Gatwick and eight between Edinburgh and London City.

The airline is also adding to its aircraft fleet with three new 98-seat Embraer 190 jets based at London City, taking the total fleet of Embraer 170 and 190 jets to 17. The first two new aircraft will be rolled out in May.