easyJet launches 4 new routes from Belfast

easyJet, Northern Ireland's largest low-fares airline, will increase the number of routes it serves from Belfast International Airport to a record 23 this week with the launch of four new services.

The first of the new routes; Gdansk in Poland, will be launched tomorrow, followed by flights to Prague and Venice on Thursday and to Barcelona on Saturday.

easyJet expects to carry over 140,000 passengers on the four routes in the first 12 months. The expansion means the airline is introducing an additional aircraft, bringing the number of aircraft based at Belfast to six.

David Osborne, easyJet UK General Manager, said:

“Increasing the number of easyJet routes from Belfast International to 23, further cements our commitment to the region and its people. We have been in Northern Ireland for nine years and we intend to keep expanding for many years to come.

We will carry close to 3.3 million passengers from Belfast in the next 12 months, and the addition of the sixth aircraft means a total investment of £120 million.

Overall, we have made a huge investment in Northern Ireland – strongly supporting the economy and opening links to Europe that are vital for business as well as leisure travellers.

We have ensured that the travelling public no longer have to endure lengthy connections through London airports and can now fly directly to the main airports of Europe's major cities with easyJet's low fares."

John Doran, Managing Director of Belfast International Airport, said:

“We are delighted to acknowledge today’s further statement of commitment to Belfast and to Northern Ireland by easyJet, once again delivering new and refreshing destinations to the people of the region.

easyJet can truly claim to have pioneered the changed landscape for air travel to and from Northern Ireland over the past decade. They have proven to be a responsible, serious and innovative business partner, delivering a wide range of vital business and leisure links for passengers departing from and arriving into Northern Ireland, dating back to 1998.

As the region embarks upon ever more interesting times we can reflect with a sense of achievement on what we have jointly established over the past decade, in the knowledge that both easyJet and Belfast International Airport have the capacity and appetite to deliver ever greater opportunity to the ‘new’ Northern Ireland as we look forward into the future.”

easyJet flew its 20 millionth passenger from Belfast International in July. Earlier, in April, it established the first direct air link between Belfast and Poland with the launch of the Krakow route.

Weekly flights to Krakow have been increased from three to five and there are also increased frequencies on services to Stansted, Geneva and Paris.