New flights to start

Aer Arann has also confirmed that in response to public demand its morning flight to Dublin will depart at 7.40am, arriving in Dublin at 8.30am. The airline says its newly timed Dublin service will offer both earlier access to the city as well as increase the choice of onward connections available from Dublin airport.

The new routes and schedule change will begin operating from May 20th. Manchester and Edinburgh fares start from 36 one way including taxes while the Dublin service starts from 31.99 one way including taxes. The Manchester service will operate seven days per week while the Edinburgh service will operate six days per week.

The Dublin service remains a double daily service operating seven days per week.

Welcoming the new routes, Aer Arann Corporate Affairs Director Andrew Kelly said: “We are delighted to introduce these new links to Scotland and the North of England from City of Derry Airport as well as revising our Dublin schedule to meet passenger demand. The new routes and schedule are proof of our commitment to offering direct services from the Derry region to major international cities. We are looking forward to welcoming both new and existing passengers on these services in the coming months.”

Mayor, Councillor Paul Fleming has welcomed news that Aer Arann is to operate new routes from the City of Derry Airport to the cities of Manchester and Edinburgh.

He commented: “This is a tremendous boost for the airport and excellent news for passengers across the North West who now have direct access to the popular city destinations of Manchester and Edinburgh. The addition of these new routes is a welcome addition to our existing range of destinations. We have an excellent working relationship with the airline Aer Arann, who provide our daily Dublin service, and look forward to working with them to deliver a successful service to Manchester and Edinburgh.”

The chairman of the Airport committee, Councillor Colum Eastwood said that access to Manchester and Edinburgh was vitally important to the North West regional business and tourism economy.

“The link with Derry to the cities of Manchester and Edinburgh is vitally important to our passengers who can now avail of connections to worldwide destinations from their local airport,” he said.

This is the latest development for Aer Arann following the recent announcement that the airline has signed a franchise agreement with Aer Lingus to operate 12 routes between Ireland and the UK under the brand “Aer Lingus Regional”. The airline has also announced new services from Kerry to Manchester and from Donegal to Glasgow.