Emerald Airlines, the exclusive operator of Aer Lingus Regional, has announced the launch of new service from their Belfast City Airport base to Cardiff and Southampton, just in time for the summer holiday season.
On Monday (June 27, 2022), Emerald Airlines, the exclusive operator of Aer Lingus Regional, announced the launch of new service from Belfast City Airport to Cardiff and Southampton. The new routes join existing service between Belfast City and Birmingham, Leeds Bradford, Glasgow, Exeter and Manchester, reinforcing the carrier’s position as the largest airline at the city centre airport. Starting July 7, 2022, flights between Belfast City and Cardiff will operate five times per week on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, while flights to Southampton will operate daily. Both routes will be serviced with a comfortable, modern and efficient ATR 72-600 regional turboprop aircraft.
In Monday’s announcment, Emerald Airlines Head of Commercial, Ciarán Smooth, 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.”
Also commenting on the added routes, Belfast City Airport’s Aviation Development Manager, Ellie Gimpsey, 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. With the addition of Cardiff and Southampton, Aer Lingus Regional will now operate routes to 8 of the 21 destinations Belfast City Airport will fly to this summer. 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.”
Travelers will also be able to earn Avios points on all Aer Lingus Regional flights, providing continuity and benefits of the current services by Aer Lingus and British Airways at Belfast City Airport.
Dublin-based Emerald Airlines is Ireland’s newest regional carrier and the exclusive operator of the Aer Lingus Regional route network. The airline offers a range of solutions including, franchise, wet-lease and private charter flying. Emerald Airlines’ dedicated team of aviation specialists provide customers with customized fleet solutions. Emerald Airlines currently operates Aer Lingus Regional flights from Dublin and Belfast City airports, with over 430 weekly flights on 18 routes to and from 14 airports including Bristol, Birmingham, Exeter, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Isle of Man, Newquay among others. Managed by a team of highly-experienced aviation professionals, Emerald’s mission is to safely and sustainability grow the business through innovation, expertise and a commitment to exceeding the expectations of their customers and airline partners.
Emerald Airlines has also established an airline company in Northern Ireland (Emerald Airlines UK Ltd), and has applied to the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for a UK AOC and Operating License. Once the AOC is granted, British Airways’ customers will be able to continue to book travel on BA.com and enjoy all the benefits via the codeshare agreement with Emerald Airlines.
Source: Emerald Airlines