Following Ryanair’s recent announcement that it would be withdrawing ALL flights from Northern Ireland, the Department for the Economy has reiterated its commitment to “Northern Ireland’s domestic and international air connectivity” saying that it understands that “Belfast International Airport has been engaging with airlines to provide continuity on the routes to be vacated at the airport by Ryanair”.
A spokesperson for the Department for the Economy said: “The decision by Ryanair to withdraw from Belfast City and Belfast International Airports was a commercial decision by them and was very disappointing.
“While the airline currently runs no domestic flights to Great Britain, they do service tourism routes to destinations in Europe.
“The Department understands that Belfast International Airport has been engaging with airlines to provide continuity on the routes to be vacated at the airport by Ryanair.
“Air connectivity is vital for NI’s economic recovery. Good air links facilitate both business and inbound leisure travel and are part of the lifeblood of any strong economy. Clearly, the pandemic continues to have a profound impact upon the aviation industry, which is why the Department’s NI Domestic Aviation Kickstart Scheme (NIDAKS) is making around £4.5million available to support airlines to help kickstart NI’s economic recovery, by maintaining and enhancing routes between the three local airports and GB over the period June to October 2021.
“Already the NIDAKS is having a positive effect, with a number of new routes, which are economically important to NI, having been introduced from all three local airports to GB destinations.
“The Economy Minister has a responsibility to maintain and enhance our air connectivity, both domestically and internationally and firmly believes the UK Government must scrap Air Passenger Duty (APD). It is his view that APD is an unfair tax that should be addressed at a national level, as it has a particularly detrimental impact on NI passengers, due to our physical remoteness to mainland Great Britain and the lack of viable alternatives by either road or rail.
“The Minister will continue to strongly lobby HM Treasury to have APD removed and has also robustly raised his concerns with the head of the UK Government’s Union Connectivity Review, Sir Peter Hendy, in a recent meeting with him. The Minister is hopeful we will see some positive movement on the issue in the near future.
“While the news from Ryanair is undoubtedly a blow, the Minister believes the future is positive and he will continue to do all he can to maintain and enhance Northern Ireland’s domestic and international air connectivity.”
