Aer Lingus celebrates a year at Belfast International

Aer Lingus has celebrated the first anniversary of its launch of operations from Belfast International Airport.

The company invested some £100 million in moving to the new base in August 2007 and began flight operations on December 10th.

Over the past 12 months, the airline has launched ten routes from Belfast and taken more than 750,000 bookings.

Aer Lingus has carried some 600,000 passengers from its new base and has also taken more than 40 per cent of the incumbent airline's market share on the flagship route from Belfast International Airport to London Heathrow.

Chief executive Dermot Mannion said: "Whatever way you slice it the Aer Lingus move to Belfast has been and remains a success.

"We've exceeded our targets, delivered real choice and competition in the marketplace and in just the first year of operation Heathrow is already exceeding our expectations and there is still room to grow."

Mr Mannion confirmed that the airline will be launching new flights from Belfast International Airport to Tenerife next year and increasing services to Faro, Malaga, Rome and Lanzarote.

• BAA signs contract for construction of Heathrow Terminal 2
• Travellers promised value for money in Malaysia
• Bmi to launch London Heathrow to Berlin flights this month
• Whale sharks arrive in Western Australia
• British Airways reveals strike contingency plans
• Machu Picchu to reopen following floods
• Dubai tourist board promotes annual events
• Flybe to boost capacity during British Airways strike
• Emirates to deploy second A380 on London to Dubai flights
• Qatar Airways to offer Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires flights