Aer Lingus ends flights between Belfast City and Heathrow

Aer Lingus is to close its service between Belfast City Airport and London Heathrow at the end of October.

Heathrow is the only ‘mainline’ service operated by Aer Lingus from Belfast City. Other flights from the airport under the Aer Lingus brand are operated by its franchise partner, Emerald Airlines.

The closure is Brexit-related. As an Irish airline, Aer Lingus does not have any legal rights to operate domestic flights inside the UK. It had been operating under a temporary licence but this has now come to an end.

The last Aer Lingus service will be the early morning departure on Sunday 30th October. Going forward, British Airways will operate three daily flights from Belfast City to Heathrow. It will be structured as a wet lease, with the flights retaining Aer Lingus flight numbers.

A statement from Aer Lingus said:

“Aer Lingus is very keen to continue operating the Belfast City – Heathrow London service, which we have been operating since 2007. 

“We are engaging with the relevant authorities in order to allow us to continue to serve this route into the future.

“For the upcoming winter season we will be working with our sister airline, British Airways, to ensure there is continuity of service and no impact to any of our passengers journeys.”

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