Ireland West Airport today welcomed the commencement of a brand new daily service connecting the west coast of Ireland to London Heathrow with Aer Lingus.
The inaugural Aer Lingus flight EI916, operated by an Airbus A320, landed at 12:44pm this afternoon from Heathrow Airport. Aer Lingus will operate daily flights to London Heathrow, London’s biggest and most well-connected airport, on a year-round basis.
This new service is another milestone in the airport’s history as it’s the first time the airport will be connected to one of Europe’s major international airport hubs.
As well as providing a daily service to Heathrow, this new service means customers can enjoy seamless connections via London Heathrow Airport to North America. Aer Lingus currently has partnerships with a network of airlines out of Heathrow Airport, providing access to an ever-growing number of routes and benefits. Airlines include Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, JetBlue and United Airlines. British Airways codeshares on Aer Lingus services which will offer global access from Ireland West Airport to/from UK and London Heathrow. British Airways also codeshares on Aer Lingus operated North American and Canadian services for connecting passengers to and from the UK.
The new route will boost inbound tourism to the West of Ireland. Given the proximity of Ireland West Airport to the Wild Atlantic Way and the huge spotlight on the west of Ireland following the box-office hit The Banshees of Inisherin, the new route will provide increased access for GB visitors and those travelling from all around the world via Heathrow to one of Ireland’s most popular regions.
Commenting on the new London Heathrow service, Lynne Embleton, Aer Lingus CEO, said: “The west of Ireland has so much to offer as a tourist destination with the Wild Atlantic Way and most recently as the filming location for Oscar-nominated The Banshees of Inisherin. Our new Ireland West Airport-Heathrow service is an exciting new route, bringing travellers from Great Britain right to the heart of the action in the west of Ireland. Equally customers from the west of Ireland will now fly into the UK’s largest airport and have the opportunity to travel onwards to cities all over the world.”
Welcoming the news, Arthur French, Chairman, Ireland West Airport commented “This is another proud day for the airport and the entire Western region as we commence our new daily service to Heathrow with Aer Lingus. The hub status of Heathrow for business and leisure passengers to connect with the global marketplace is a major boost for this region, as this service opens up key onward connectivity, through one of Europe’s biggest hubs, to over 80 destinations worldwide. From a tourism perspective the service will deliver a significant increase in tourist visits from all corners of the globe. It was particularly pleasing to see today so many passengers on the first flights travelling onwards to destinations such as New York and people arriving in from as far away as Adelaide in Australia, which emphasises the importance of this new connection, which now provides seamless access to North America and a host of worldwide destinations with Aer Lingus’s codeshare partners. We thank Aer Lingus for their continued support and their vote of confidence in the airport. It is critically important now that the new service attracts the full support of the region and the business community in particular, as it will require an even greater effort on all our behalf’s to ensure the route is a success and continues to grow in the longer term.”
Judith Cassidy, Tourism Ireland Deputy Head of Great Britain, said: “This new route from Heathrow to Ireland West Airport means that GB visitors can travel directly from London to Ireland’s dramatic Wild Atlantic Way coastline in less than two hours. Here they can experience and enjoy the rugged beauty of the west coast of Ireland as seen in the Oscar nominated Banshees of Inisherin. In addition to dramatic land and seascapes, the region is renowned for its warm welcome, amazing food and traditional music all year round. And of course, as our nearest neighbour, and no travel restrictions in place for British visitors thanks to the Common Travel Area, it’s so easy to visit.”
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