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| Aer Lingus move brings jobs boost | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Aer Lingus is to create more than 100 new jobs with the launch of at least eight new flights from Belfast International Airport. | |
| Flights to Amsterdam, Barcelona and Geneva will begin in December, followed by London Heathrow in January. | |
| The airline will commence services to Budapest, Faro, Malaga and Rome the following month. | |
| Aer Lingus said its investment of £100m had the potential to bring up to 1m new passengers to the airport every year. | |
| Company chief executive Dermot Mannion said Northern Ireland was becoming an increasingly popular destination for visitors from all over the world. | |
| "Belfast International Airport is the ideal location for the new Aer Lingus base, offering 24/7, all-weather operations and long runways capable of accommodating all current and future Aer Lingus development potential," he added. | |
| Aer Lingus chose Belfast over Birmingham for its new UK hub. | |
| Initially, three aircraft will be permanently based at Aldergrove, with more to follow as additional routes are added. | |
| DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson said Aer Lingus' choice of Belfast International as its UK hub would be a boost for the economy and tourism. | |
| "I think they are looking to the future, they recognise that Northern Ireland is going to be one of the major growth areas," he said. | |
| Most of the routes are already served by rival carriers such as Jet2 and Easyjet and a price war is anticipated. | Most of the routes are already served by rival carriers such as Jet2 and Easyjet and a price war is anticipated. |
| It's believed that Aer Lingus may launch transatlantic flights from Belfast Yvette Sharpiro | It's believed that Aer Lingus may launch transatlantic flights from Belfast Yvette Sharpiro |
| "Competition for passengers will be fierce and travel industry experts say that prices will almost certainly tumble in the short term at least," said BBC NI business correspondent Yvette Shapiro. | "Competition for passengers will be fierce and travel industry experts say that prices will almost certainly tumble in the short term at least," said BBC NI business correspondent Yvette Shapiro. |
| "In the longer term, it's believed that Aer Lingus may launch transatlantic flights from Belfast." | "In the longer term, it's believed that Aer Lingus may launch transatlantic flights from Belfast." |