Birmingham and Manchester services from Belfast City Airport

UK to NI services from Belfast City Airport

George Best Belfast City Airport has further strengthened its UK route network, with the inaugural Aer Lingus Regional flights to Birmingham and Manchester taking off today, 14 September.

Operated by Stobart Air, these Aer Lingus Regional routes will commence with a double-daily service, with up to three flights daily from 15 October, to conveniently connect passengers with the West Midlands area and the North West of England.

The launch of Birmingham and Manchester follows the launch of Edinburgh and Exeter flights from Belfast City Airport, where Aer Lingus Regional now has five based ATR72-600 aircraft, last month.

Katy Best, Commercial Director at Belfast City Airport, said:

“As hub airports, Birmingham and Manchester have always been popular routes served from Belfast City Airport, heavily utilised by both business and leisure audiences, as well as the student market, so it is great to have this connectivity secured once again.

“Today’s launches are the third and fourth in a series of six new route launches with Aer Lingus Regional. We very much look forward to working with the airline to ensure the success of these routes and bolstering regional connectivity from Northern Ireland.”

Commenting on the announcement, Stobart Air Managing Director Andy Jolly said:

“We are thrilled to launch the inaugural Aer Lingus Regional flights to Birmingham and Manchester today from our base at Belfast City Airport. We look forward to continuing our work with Birmingham Airport, Manchester Airport, Belfast City Airport and our partner Aer Lingus to operate flights to and from Belfast.

“Stobart Air has continued to work hard over the past number of weeks and months to protect our airline during these challenging times to position us for the future. The launch of these services from Belfast is part of that hard work."

These new Aer Lingus Regional routes will facilitate key links and connectivity between Belfast and both Birmingham and Manchester. We will ensure we provide choice, value and convenience for our customers. We look forward to welcoming our passengers on board these new routes from today.”

East Belfast MP, Gavin Robinson, added:

“The past six months have been an incredibly difficult time for the airline industry and families across the country who have lost connectivity with their loved ones, and opportunities for business and leisure.

“I am therefore delighted that these new routes will restore options for all travellers and inject much needed confidence within the travel industry. As previously popular destinations, I know Belfast City Airport have worked incredibly to restore confidence in travel and trust many will take the opportunity to support these routes.”

From Belfast City Airport, Aer Lingus operates a hugely popular, three-daily service to London Heathrow, as well as Aer Lingus Regional flights to Scottish capital Edinburgh, which have from today increased to three times daily in line with passenger demand, and a four-times weekly service to Exeter.

The airline will also commence flights to East Midlands and Leeds Bradford from 01 October.

Choosing to fly with Aer Lingus Regional to any of its destinations from Belfast City Airport, passengers will not only benefit from award-winning service, great value fares and convenient flight times but can also avail of the Aer Lingus’ loyalty programme, AerClub, where Avios reward points can be collected and redeemed against future Aer Lingus flights, purchases or products.

Stobart Air, following guidance from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), has implemented a number of enhanced health and safety measures to protect staff, crew and passengers.

These include enhanced aircraft cleaning, mandatory face coverings/masks on all flights with the exception of children under the age of six and those who are unable to wear a face mask for medical reasons as well as boarding and disembarking in small groups.

Enhanced sanitisation and social distancing are also in place at Belfast City Airport where face coverings/masks are also mandatory. Guidance for passengers can be viewed at belfastcityairport.com

For more information and to book flights from Belfast City Airport to Birmingham, Edinburgh, East Midlands, Exeter, Leeds Bradford, London Heathrow or Manchester, visit www.aerlingus.com