Aer Arann to suspend services from Cork to Dublin and Belfast

AER ARANN plans to suspend its flights from Cork to Dublin and Belfast at the end of next month.

The company said the daily flights between the airports will be suspended from Tuesday, August 31, due to a lease expiring on an aircraft servicing the routes.

Aer Arann said the 48-seat ATR-42 aircraft was one of the longest serving in its fleet. Currently, the airline operates one return flight per day, except Saturdays, between Cork and both Dublin and Belfast and both routes are served by the same Dublin-based aircraft.

Andrew Kelly, Aer Arann director of corporate affairs, said the company sincerely regretted having to suspend the services and the inconvenience it would cause to customers on both routes.

“Unfortunately, however, we have an aircraft leaving the fleet and this has an obvious but regrettable impact on our schedule,” he said.

Mr Kelly said Aer Arann intends to develop its fleet with an emphasis on reducing costs so it can offer lower fares and better value in the longer term.

“As part of this process we will continue to look at opportunities for new and additional services from Cork as our fleet expands over time and the potential to restart services on the Dublin and Belfast routes will be kept under consideration,” Mr Kelly said.

Just three weeks ago, additional Aer Lingus regional flights, operated by Aer Arann, were announced from Cork to Manchester and Birmingham.

All passengers booked on the Cork-Dublin and Cork-Belfast services from August 31 will be contacted directly by Aer Arann customer relations and will be fully refunded.