Highland transport links 'must be improved', CBI Scotland chief urges 14 March 2013 Last updated at 20:07 The director of business body CBI Scotland has called for improvements to transport links to the Highlands. Iain McMillan said work to make the A9 dual carriageway all the way from Perth to Inverness should be accelerated. He also said the loss of an air link between Inverness and London Heathrow several years ago continued to be an unacceptable situation. Mr McMillan said he welcomed improvements to train services but said they could go further. The CBI Scotland chief was making the calls at a business dinner in Inverness. More ambition Ahead of the gathering, he said: "The Scottish government has indicated its intention to upgrade the A9 to dual carriageway. We support this investment as a means of unlocking the economic potential of the North, but the estimated completion date is 2025. That's not good enough and the Scottish government needs to be more ambitious and bring this project forward for earlier completion. On air links, he said the loss of flights to Heathrow was unacceptable. BA stopped its service in 1997. It has been suggested that if a planned third runway at Heathrow gets the go-ahead it could open the way for the service to resume. Plans for the new runway are the subject of the Davies Commission, which is not due to report until 2015. A9 upgrade Mr McMillan welcomed planned rail infrastructure improvements and also £50m investment in the Sleeper that serves Inverness. However, he said shorter journey times and other upgrades should be made. The Scottish government is committed to upgrading the A9. In June last year, it said a £3bn programme of work to make the A9 dual carriageway all the way from Inverness to Perth would start early. The improvements will begin by 2015-16, rather than 2017-18, with an enhancement of the Kincraig to Dalraddy overtaking lane south of Aviemore. The full project is not expected to be completed until 2025. There are about 80 miles (128.7km) of single carriageway between the cities.