Aer Arann is to operate four new flights per week to Newcastle as part of an expanded 2014 service from Cork Airport.
Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Aer Arann, announced its plans to grow passenger numbers at Cork airport by one fifth to 300,000 by the end of 2014.
Along with an additional 50,000 seats, expansion of other routes will increase flights between the UK and Cork to 174 flights per week. As part of a €35 million investment, two brand new Aer Lingus Regional aircraft will be based in Cork from April to service the expanded routes.
“Growing demand” from the business community will see the the Manchesterto Cork route grow from 28 to 34 flights per week, operating three flights on peak days.
Four additional flights will be laid on the Cork to Bristol route bringing the weekly total to 18 flights. Aer Lingus Regional plans to increase capacity on the Cork-Glasgow service by 10 per cent while existing services to Birmingham, Edinburgh and Jersey remain unchanged.
Capacity on flights from Cork to Rennes in Northern France will double from June 2014 as Aer Lingus plans to add a mid-week flight to the Saturday service.
The airline confirmed that the decision to expand its services to and from Cork was directly related to the Government’s budget announcement to abolish the travel tax from April 2014.
"Our decision to move ahead with expansion in Cork is directly related to the recent Government decision to abolish the travel tax, and is further evidence that sound policies can contribute to solid growth," Aer Arann's chief commercial officer Simon Fagan said.
Aer Lingus Regional experienced a 10 per cent rise in passenger numbers through Cork in 2013 compared to the previous year.
Airport director Niall MacCarthy said that the announcement will boost the regional economy in terms of business connectivity to Britain, which is Ireland’s strongest trading partner, while encouraging inbound UK tourism to Cork.
“This along with the additional 50,000 seats recently announced by Aer Lingus on the Heathrow route for Summer 2014 will sow the seeds for recovery in the market for inbound UK tourism to the Cork region. This announcement confirms Cork’s status as the Republic of Ireland’s second largest airport serving 2.3 million passengers annually,” he said.