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Ryanair considers Belfast City Airport

Well known budget airline Ryanair seems almost ready to announce that it will begin operations at the George Best Belfast City Airport.

The Belfast Telegraph, a local paper, first learned of the potential deal between the Irish airline and the City Airport, although nothing has been signed, to date.

It is expected that the no-frills airline will announce the agreement within the next month and begin offering services to the city in October.

With Ryanair operating from Belfast City Airport, a number of new destinations would become available for local residents and competition on several well established routes from the airport would increase.

Although nothing has been formally declared, Ryanair is likely to offer flights from Belfast to Paris, Brussels, Riga, Rome, Barcelona and a city in Poland. In the UK, the airline seems to be considering routes to Bristol, Liverpool and the East Midlands Airport.

Industry experts believe that Ryainair will not start offering all these flights from Belfast immediately, but rather will introduce them slowly, over time.

Currently Flybe, another low-cost carrier, is the only airline offering scheduled direct service from Belfast to mainland Europe through a weekly flight to France.

Spokespeople from both the airline and the airport were non-committal about the possible future deal. The chief executive at Belfast City Airport, Brian Ambrose said that the deal was merely speculation.

"The airport is in negotiation with a number of carriers in order to realise its ambition of offering our customers an increased portfolio of European routes," he said.

Although the spokesperson for Ryanair refused to comment on market speculation, it is known that the airline has been discussing deals with Belfast City Airport and Belfast International. Competition from the likes of easyJet and Aer Lingus at Belfast International, however, means that Belfast City seems like a likely choice.

There were 2.1 million people who used Belfast City Airport last year. The airport currently employs less than 100 people directly, however if Ryanair does make a deal with the airport, many predict that as many as seven times that number could find jobs at Belfast City Airport within the next five years.

Follow these links to find out more or to get a quote on Travel insurance, Belfast airport hotels, Belfast airport parking or Belfast airport lounges.



Jennifer Jones Editorial


25/06/2007


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