Delta Air Lines’ newest service is departing Edinburgh Airport on its maiden flight to Boston Logan International Airport.

The flight, which will operate daily during the summer, complements Delta’s existing Edinburgh-New York-JFK service which will become year-round in 2019, and means the airline offers two nonstop connections between the capital and United States every day this summer.

Delta first started flying to Scotland in 2016 when it launched its nonstop service to Edinburgh from New York-JFK.

It added a summer seasonal service from Glasgow to the Big Apple (which resumes today) a year later.

Together with joint venture partner Virgin Atlantic, the airlines will offer up to four daily flights this summer to three destinations in the US.

Cabinet secretary for transport, infrastructure and connectivity, Michael Matheson, joined executives from Delta, Edinburgh Airport and VisitScotland for the ribbon-cutting ceremony prior to departure, while a bagpiper offered a traditional welcome to guests on the inbound flight from Boston.

“It’s fantastic to see this new service get off the ground, highlighting and strengthening the longstanding economic and cultural links between Scotland and the United States,” said Matheson.

“Not only will this route bring real benefits for Scottish businesses, giving them greater access to important American markets, but it will also help boost our tourism industry by making it even easier for visitors to get a taste of the fantastic experiences Edinburgh, and Scotland as a whole, have to offer.”

Meanwhile, Delta is Boston’s fastest-growing carrier by daily departures.

In addition to Edinburgh, Delta is also inaugurating service from Lisbon, Portugal, today giving it the biggest European network of any carrier at Boston Logan.

Together with its SkyTeam and joint venture airline partners, Delta will serve 56 destinations this autumn.

Roberto Ioriatti, Delta vice president, transatlantic, said: “Delta’s new flight is the only nonstop link between Edinburgh and Boston.

“Having seen steady growth of customers on our New York service over the past three years, we are confident that Boston will be another popular destination providing more choice to our customers in Scotland and the United States.

“From our Boston hub, customers can connect onto 17 destinations with a short layover.”