• Dublin to Cardiff route to commence on 30 August and initially operate three times weekly, with fares starting from €36.99;
  • Belfast to Cardiff route to commence on 28 June and initially operate four times weekly, with fares starting from £29.99;
  • Flights will operate in line with Covid-19 protocols, including Stobart Air’s enhanced health and safety measures;
  • Stobart Air calls on UK & Irish Governments to introduce vaccine passport system to allow vaccinated people resume travel;
  • Andy Jolly, Managing Director at Stobart Air said: “The aviation industry needs a roadmap and a clear plan for when and how air travel can safely resume in line with vaccination rollout programmes. We are pleased to add new routes from Dublin and Belfast to Cardiff to our network, which are subject to a timeline that provides certainty for airlines, airports and customers, and which will cater for both business and leisure travellers with direct, convenient and cost-effective flights.”

Stobart Air, operator of Aer Lingus Regional routes, has today (Wednesday, 05 May) added two new routes to its network, connecting the island of Ireland with the capital city of Wales.

The new Dublin (DUB) to Cardiff Airport (CWL) route will initially operate three times weekly, on Monday, Friday, and Sunday, commencing on 30 August.

The new route between Belfast City Airport (BHD) and Cardiff will initially operate four times weekly on Monday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday commencing on 28 June.

Stobart Air has called on the Irish government to outline a roadmap for the safe resumption of air travel, and to put in place a practical vaccine passport policy to allow people who have received a complete dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to travel within the Ireland-UK Common Travel area, to help restore public confidence in aviation and help air travel resume in line with the successful rollout of vaccination programmes.

Stobart Air also calls on the Irish and UK governments to mutually recognise proof of domestic negative Covid-19 tests (for example on the UK’s NHS App) rather than require passengers to undertake additional pre-departure PCR tests.

Anticipating a resumption of air travel within the Common Travel Area in line with the successful rollout of vaccination programmes across the UK and Ireland, Stobart Air has added these new routes to its Aer Lingus Regional network to provide additional choices for customers wishing to travel for business and leisure.

All Stobart Air flights will operate in line with Covid protocols put in place by the UK and Irish governments and health authorities. Stobart Air has implemented enhanced health and safety measures to protect staff, crew and passengers, including enhanced aircraft cleaning, mandatory face coverings (with the exception of small children and those who are unable to wear a face mask for medical reasons), and boarding, disembarkation and in-flight procedures to reduce crew and passenger interaction.

Commenting on the routes, Andy Jolly, Managing Director at Stobart Air, said:

“Stobart Air continues to call on the Irish Government to work with all industry stakeholders to restore confidence in aviation and facilitate the resumption of safe air travel in line with the vaccination rollout programme. Airlines need to be able to plan and resource their schedules in advance, so it is critical that the government can outline a roadmap for the resumption of international travel.

In the immediate term this includes developing a vaccine passport procedure to allow people who have received their complete vaccine course to travel without restriction within the Common Travel Area, and the recognition of evidence of a negative test for Covid-19 provided on the UK NHS app.

Anticipating a successful Covid-19 vaccination rollout which will allow air travel to resume safely later this year, we are pleased to add these two new routes from Dublin and Belfast to Cardiff to our network. We believe these new connections will cater to both business and leisure travellers with direct, convenient and cost-effective flights between Dublin and Belfast and the Welsh capital.

“We are committed to providing our passengers with frequent, convenient and affordable services through our regional connections. We look forward to welcomingour staff and customers onboard these new routes.”

For further information and for booking visit aerlingus.com.