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Royal Mail has awarded a new five-year contract to Glasgow-based Loganair to fly its mail throughout Scotland.

The new contract beginning on Wednesday involves the creation of 24 new jobs at the Scottish airline.

These posts include pilots and engineers based in Inverness and Aberdeen and ground handling staff in Orkney and Shetland.

The contract continues Loganair's existing mail service linking Inverness with Stornoway on Lewis and Benbecula.

The deal maintains its flights between Inverness and a Royal Mail hub in the East Midlands.

The contract also involves new responsibilities for linking Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Inverness