RYANAIR IS SET to launch eight new routes connecting Belfast City Airport to eight locations from this summer.

This is the airline’s first time connecting flights to the Belfast airport in almost 11 years. 

The new routes will go between Belfast and: 

• Malaga (7 flights per week)
• Mallorca (7 flights p/w)
• Faro (7 flights p/w)
• Alicante (7 flights p/w)
• Barcelona (5 flights p/w)
• Ibiza (2 flights p/w)
• Milan Bergamo (2 flights p/w)
• Valencia (2 flights p/w)

The airline’s director of marketing, Dara Brady, said they are “delighted” to return to Belfast airport. 

The CEO of Belfast City Airport, Brian Ambrose, described the new routes as “excellent news” for Northern Ireland. 

“Travel has been significantly restricted over the last 12 months and as the vaccine rollout continues at pace and the restrictions ease, we expect there will be considerable demand for these routes, and we look forward to welcoming Ryanair customers through the terminal,” Ambrose said.

Ryanair pulled out of Belfast airport in 2010, citing repeated delays over extending the airport’s small runway, the Guardian newspaper reported at the time. 

The current advice in Northern Ireland is to avoid travelling as much as possible “in light of the continuing Covid-19 threat”. 

People returning to Northern Ireland from a country outside the Common Travel Area must self-isolate for ten days. 

In the Republic, the government continues to advise against all non-essential international travel. 

From 22-28 February, 11,607 passengers travelled into Dublin Airport. 

The top five reasons given by Irish residents for their travels were: holiday/visit, work/business, visit sick relative, medical and funeral. 

The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) recently upheld a complaint about a Ryanair advert which encouraged consumers to book Easter and summer holidays with the airline after having received vaccinations.

The advertising in question appeared on tv from 26 December 2020 to 11 January 2021, and online. 

“Covid vaccines are coming, so book your Easter and Summer holidays today with Ryanair. One million seats on sale from €19.99 to sunshine destinations, in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece and many more, so vax and go,” the tv voiceover stated.

Footage showed groups of people in their 20s and 30s enjoying the holiday destinations.

Some 59 complaints were made by people who felt the advertising had the potential to mislead consumers and queried whether the advertisement conflicted with public health guidelines.

Ryanair rejected what they described as baseless complaints and believed they were not representative of the views of the large audience that the advertisement would have reached.

But the ASAI said that when the advertising was interpreted together it implied that members of the public could avail of vaccination in time for at least Easter 2021 and that European travel restrictions would permit such travel.