Ryanair has added five new routes from Belfast to UK destinations as part of its ever-expanding summer 2023 schedule.
The new routes link Belfast to Cardiff, Edinburgh, East Midlands, Manchester and London Stansted. The airline has also launched four domestic UK routes out of Bournemouth, Edinburgh and Newquay in direct response to the UK government cutting air passenger duty/APD fees by 50% as of April.
Ryanair’s Head of Communications, Jade Kirwan, said:
“Ryanair is pleased to announce 9 new domestic UK routes in direct response to the UK Government’s 50% reduction in UK APD from April 1. Reducing APD will result in market growth in the UK, and these new routes show just that with 74 weekly flights scheduled across Belfast, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Edinburgh. East Midlands, London, Manchester and Newquay representing 95% growth on our UK domestic schedule compared to last Summer.
“While the halving of APD on domestic flights from April 2023 has allowed Ryanair to add more domestic routes to our UK schedule for Summer 2023, if we are to continue to grow and drive traffic/tourism recovery for the UK, the UK Government should immediately scrap APD for all travel and provide incentives for airlines like Ryanair to stimulate growth and recovery for the entire UK market.”
