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22/02/2008
Airports Take Off
Any shortage of fixed transport facilities to and from Belfast International Airport - such as the now stymied rail link proposed by airline, Easyjet - hasn't prevented 'Aldergrove' from soaring to new levels.
In conjunction with the City of Derry Airport and The George Best International - formerly the Harbour Airport - the three airports combined have now reached new heights with 36 European and transatlantic destinations now available from the three airports between them.
This is quite a fillip as just five years ago, the only scheduled international flight from Northern Ireland was Belfast to Amsterdam.
This year, Ulster travellers can now touch down everywhere from eastern Europe to the US.
Katy Best, acting Business Development Director at George Best City Airport, said the explosion in offers from no-frills airlines means she’s braced for her busiest year.
"In our first year of operation we carried 84,000 passengers across six routes. By the end of 2008 – our 25th anniversary year – we expect to carry 2.7 million passengers to and from 28 destinations," she said.
The influx of up to 60,000 migrant workers into Northern Ireland and the arrival of budget carriers Aer Lingus and Ryanair from the Republic has forced airlines to spread their wings and add new routes as competition hots up.
Aer Lingus trampled on the toes of rivals when it shifted its hub from Shannon in Limerick to Belfast International Airport.
Its £500,000 advertising campaign in Ulster unveiled an ambitious array of destinations and ensured tens of thousands of seats have been snapped up on its scheduled flights.
Meanwhile, as the summer season approaches, many hundreds of charter flights to sunshine destinations will top off those already in flight to ski holiday destinations.
(BMcC)
In conjunction with the City of Derry Airport and The George Best International - formerly the Harbour Airport - the three airports combined have now reached new heights with 36 European and transatlantic destinations now available from the three airports between them.
This is quite a fillip as just five years ago, the only scheduled international flight from Northern Ireland was Belfast to Amsterdam.
This year, Ulster travellers can now touch down everywhere from eastern Europe to the US.
Katy Best, acting Business Development Director at George Best City Airport, said the explosion in offers from no-frills airlines means she’s braced for her busiest year.
"In our first year of operation we carried 84,000 passengers across six routes. By the end of 2008 – our 25th anniversary year – we expect to carry 2.7 million passengers to and from 28 destinations," she said.
The influx of up to 60,000 migrant workers into Northern Ireland and the arrival of budget carriers Aer Lingus and Ryanair from the Republic has forced airlines to spread their wings and add new routes as competition hots up.
Aer Lingus trampled on the toes of rivals when it shifted its hub from Shannon in Limerick to Belfast International Airport.
Its £500,000 advertising campaign in Ulster unveiled an ambitious array of destinations and ensured tens of thousands of seats have been snapped up on its scheduled flights.
Meanwhile, as the summer season approaches, many hundreds of charter flights to sunshine destinations will top off those already in flight to ski holiday destinations.
(BMcC)
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