Ryanair pulling out of Northern Ireland

In what could prove a major blow to the tourism and hospitality industry, Ryanair is pulling out of Northern Ireland.

Flights from Belfast International Airport will end on October 30, while it is believed the airline will stop flights from the City on September 12.

Affected routes include Alicante, Barcelona (Girona), Gdansk, Krakow, London Stansted, Malaga, Malta, Manchester, Milan (Bergamo) and Warsaw from the International and Alicante, Barcelona, Faro, Malaga, and Palma de Mallorca Ibiza, Valencia, and Milan from the City.

Aviation analyst Sean Moulton was first to reveal the news, tweeting: “Ryanair appear to have removed all Belfast International flights from sale after October 30 2021.

“The airline is also expected to leave Belfast City on September 12 2021. If true, it will mean no Ryanair flights in Northern Ireland.”

‘Difficult period’

A spokesman for the International Airport said: “It is disappointing that Ryanair has now decided to withdraw operations from the entire Northern Ireland market at the end of October, having variously had a presence in all three local airports in recent years.

“It has been a difficult period for aviation and a time when consumers need some stability and faith in the Northern Ireland air transport network.”

However, the spokesman added that efforts were being made to cover the affected routes and secure jobs.

They said: “As we have been anticipating such a move, we have been engaging with our existing and other new airlines to provide continuity on the routes to be vacated by Ryanair, and to help sustain employment in the aviation industry at a local level in Northern Ireland.

“To this end, we hope to be able to make announcements regarding fresh route development in the near future.”

Sign up to our newsletter and get all the latest LCN content here >>>http://eepurl.com/deVW