Graham Keddie, Managing Director of Belfast International Airport said;
“Belfast International Airport has had to make some very tough decisions in recent months as the impact of Covid-19 has been devastating for the aviation sector. When the first lockdown was announced and all commercial flights were grounded, we were committed to keeping the airport open 24/7. This was to keep Northern Ireland connected and to ensure that we remained open for all medical emergency flights, all military and PSNI traffic, the Royal Mail and all cargo flights, including the delivery of online purchases. This cost us roughly £65k per day.
“The recent travel restrictions and subsequent announcements from easyJet and Ryanair, among others, to understandably reduce their routes means we need to make more difficult decisions. As a result we will be closing the airport for a few hours on certain days throughout November when there are no commercial flights meaning passengers will not be impacted.
“We did not make this decision lightly and we are in discussions with the NI Executive for support to ensure we that we will be in a position to welcome these flights back as soon as it is possible.”
Proposed closure times in November are as follows:
Saturday 14th November: 11:15 – 18:30 (Will reopen 13:00 -14:30 to facilitate charter flight
Tuesday 17th November 10:00 – 18:30
Wednesday 18th November 10:30 – 18:30
Saturday 21st November 10:00 – 1830 (will reopen to facilitate charter time TBC)
Tuesday 24th November 10:00 – 18:30
Wednesday 25th November 10:00-18:30
Saturday 28th November 10:00 -18:30
Please note these time may be subject to change
No passenger flights will be affected, they will operate as per schedule.
Thanks
