EMERALD AIRLINES, the operator of Aer Lingus regional, has announced two new services to Cardiff and Southampton from Belfast ahead of the peak summer months.
The routes will begin on 7 July, operating Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday for Cardiff, and Monday-Friday and Sunday for Southampton.
With the addition of the two cities to the airline's schedule, Aer Lingus Regional will now operate outer to eight of the 21 destinations Belfast City Airport will fly to this summer. Some of the other areas offered by the airline include Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Glasgow, Exeter and Manchester.
Commenting on the announcement, Ciarán Smith, Head of Commercial at Emerald Airlines said:
"As we near the peak summer months, the launch of our Cardiff and Southampton services will provide those travelling from Belfast with more choice when planning their holidays. When quick getaways are on the top of everyone’s mind, we are offering convenient timings and low fares, increasing connectivity to and from Northern Ireland.
"We are extremely pleased with the feedback we have received since beginning our operations from Belfast City Airport and believe Cardiff and Southampton are great new connections that will cater to both business and leisure travellers with direct, convenient and cost-effective flights from Belfast. In addition, we will continue to add more routes and increase frequencies over the coming months."
Ellie McGimpsey, Aviation Development Manager at Belfast City Airport, said:
“Aer Lingus Regional’s base at Belfast City Airport has been operational for just over 3 months and we are thrilled to already see expansion in both the number of routes served by the airline and the frequency of its services."
“We are seeing more and more passengers choosing Belfast City Airport due not only to our extensive choice of flights, but because of our proximity to the city centre – just a five-minute drive – and our excellent security processing times which average six minutes.”
The new flights will be operated by the ATR72-600, an aircraft which emits up to 40% less CO2 on short regional flights.
