EasyJet switches airports in Belfast

EasyJet announced today it is switching its services between London Luton and Belfast International Airport to the George Best Belfast City Airport.

The twice-daily flights will move to the airport on the edge of the city on January 7, but it also means a halving of the number of flights on weekdays.

The budget airline said the move was to assess if passengers found a benefit from flying to and from an airport closer to the city of Belfast when travelling shorter routes.

If successful, easyJet said it planned to provide greater frequency and to consider additional routes from Belfast City.

The airline currently operates a base at Belfast International, with five aircraft flying more than 3 million passengers to 19 destinations .

Belfast City is just under four miles from the city centre, compared to the almost 20 of the International airport.

The new route will put easyJet in direct competition from Belfast City to London airports with Ryanair, which flies to London Stansted, flybe which goes to London Gatwick and BMI which flies to Heathrow.

Paul Simmons, regional manager for the airline in the UK, said: "easyJet is committed to Northern Ireland, very committed. We are No 1 in the region, but we are not complacent.

"That is why we want to see if our passengers flying on selected shorter routes would prefer to fly via Belfast City Airport. The only way to actually do this properly is to run a route from there.

"We will take our time in assessing the passenger feedback and then take a view on how best to configure our operations between the two airports in the longer term."

George Best Belfast City Airport chief executive Brian Ambrose said he was delighted easyJet had selected Luton as its first route for the airport - one no other airline currently offered.

He sad: "I am certain that the continuing private investment by our owners in the airport's infrastructure, aimed at enhancing the customer experience, will appeal to easyJet passengers.

"The arrival of another premier airline to Belfast City will be welcome news for our growing customer base."

Passengers who have already booked flights for after the swap date will be contacted and offered a free transfer or full refund.