Hundreds of thousands of jobs in Scotland are linked to aviation, new research has revealed.
A total of 273,100 people work in tourism, a sector which is heavily reliant on air travel and international visitors.
Meanwhile, 270,509 people are employed in foreign-owned companies that are dependent on good air links for their business.
The figures were contained in analysis of Government statistics carried out by the Aviation Foundation - which has just launched a new campaign to highlight the importance of aviation to the economy.
The research also showed some £2.9 billion worth of goods were exported from Scotland by air last year.
The Aviation Foundation is a non-profit organisation which has been set up by airlines British Airways and Virgin Atlantic together with airport operators BAA and the Manchester Airports Group (MAG).
Its Great British Flying Test campaign aims to raise awareness of the number of jobs that are dependent on the aviation sector - which employs 220,000 people in the UK directly.
As part of that, the Aviation Foundation argues businesses across Scotland and the rest of the UK "desperately need world-class air links".
Willie Walsh, chief executive officer of International Airlines Group, which owns British Airways, Colin Matthews of Heathrow Airport Holdings, the owner of Glasgow and Aberdeen airports, Charlie Cornish of MAG and Steve Ridgeway of Virgin Atlantic spoke out on the issue.
The four men issued a statement which said: "Local businesses across Scotland and the UK desperately need world-class air links. Britain has been a proud pioneer in aviation but we are in danger of taking this for granted and falling behind our better-connected competitors."
