Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Aer Lingus lands at City Airport
Six new routes to UK unveiled
AER Lingus has established a base at Belfast City Airport and launched six new routes to the UK.
Services to Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, East Midlands, Leeds Bradford and Exeter will be operated by Stobart Air and begin on a phased basis in line with passenger demand.
The new routes will fill the gap left at the airport from the collapse of Flybe which operated many popular flights to other parts of UK.
From August 27, services from Belfast City to Edinburgh will begin, while routes to Exeter will commence the following day.
Flights to Manchester and Birmingham will operate from September 14 and to East Midlands and Leeds Bradford from October 1.
Stobart Air, operator of Aer Lingus Regional routes, will base five ATR72-600 aircraft at City Airport and plans to operate over 200 flights weekly to and from Belfast.
It operates 30 Aer Lingus
Regional routes from bases in Dublin, Cork and Belfast.
Belfast City Airport chief Brian Ambrose said: “Despite an extremely challenging environment, we’re delighted Aer Lingus is to establish a new base and significantly enhance its UK network from Belfast City.”
David Shepherd, chief commercial officer at Aer Lingus, added: “Together with our up to three-times-daily service from Belfast City to London, the announcement means Aer Lingus/aer Lingus Regional, operated by Stobart Air, is the largest operator out of Belfast City, ensuring connectivity between NI and the rest of the UK.
“In response to current uncertainty, Aer Lingus has introduced a range of measures including no change fees until the end of the year.
“Details regarding steps you should take before you fly to keep yourself safe, as well as measures being taken by the airlines, can be found on our website.”