Aer Lingus announce new routes from Cork to France and Croatia

By Sean O'Riordan

Aer Lingus has announced it will start summer season flights from Cork Airport to Nice and Dubrovnik from early next May.

The announcement was made at the airport yesterday and coincided with the airline's inaugural flight from Cork to Lisbon.

Aer Lingus chief strategy and planning officer, Greg Kaldahl, said the flight to Nice will commence on Wednesdays and Sundays from May 1, while the service to Dubrovnik will take off on Tuesdays and Saturdays from May 4.

Next year more than 50 routes will be on offer from Cork Airport across Britain, continental Europe and the USA.

It’s forecasted that 2.6 million passengers will travel through Cork Airport next year - an increase of 7% on the number this year.

Mr Kaldahl said Aer Lingus doesn't have any immediate plans to start any of its own transatlantic flights flights from Cork.

He said the Cork-Lisbon flight will operate year-round on Mondays and Fridays.

We have a proven track record of servicing a broad array of European destinations from Cork and we are delighted to announce our new Cork summer schedule. Each new Aer Lingus route opens up new travel opportunities for the people of Cork for both leisure and business, and we remain committed to enhancing our offering from Cork Airport in the coming years.

Cork Airport managing director Niall MacCarthy said Aer Lingus is the airport's longest-serving and biggest airline partner.

Next summer Aer Lingus will increase its seat capacity out of Cork to 1.063million.

"We are delighted to see the airline continuing to grow and invest in Cork with Nice and Dubrovnik flights now bookable for 2019, along with the commencement of a new year-round Lisbon route. This now brings to 23 the number of routes served by Aer Lingus from Cork Airport," Mr McCarthy said.

He said scheduled Nice and Dubrovnik connections from Cork have been among the top-requested from passengers across the south of Ireland: "We are delighted that these routes are now available from Cork, giving travellers greater choice."