. Belfast will become Icelandair‘s 44th scheduled destination with a full year round service three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays operated by sister airline Air Iceland. The flight from Belfast to Reykjavik will provide easy connections with Icelandair’s wide network of destinations in the US and Canada.
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US airline United is to stop flights between Belfast and New York, months after a £9m rescue deal. Two thirds of the money, which was to be given to United over three years, was to come from the Northern Ireland Executive. The flight is the only direct air link between Northern Ireland and the US. The European Commission has said EU rules do not allow public authorities to grant a specific airline an "undue advantage". On Friday, United said the last departure from Belfast will be on 9 January. United said it had taken the decision because of the route's poor financial performance. "We will contact customers with bookings for flights beyond those dates to provide refunds and re-accommodate where possible. We apologise for any inconvenience caused," it added. Ryanair are axing their Londonderry to Stansted flights
Summer flights to Faro, in Portugal, are also being dropped while the airline's service to Liverpool is being reduced to twice a week.City of Derry Airport said it was "extremely disappointing news". John Kelpie of Derry and Strabane District Council said the airport was in discussions about a twice daily service to a London airport. In a brief statement Ryanair said its Derry 2017 summer schedule has yet to be finalised. However, the airport confirmed the Stansted flights will stop in March 2017 while the Faro flight will be axed from April of next year. "The London connection is by no means lost," Mr Kelpie said. "Nothing is guaranteed in a highly volatile environment, in a trading environment such as this, but our plans have been well made and well laid." Mr Kelpie said the Northern Ireland Executive has been "extremely supportive" and said discussions about a Stormont route development fund had been "positive." "That fund will enable us to diversify routes, attract new airlines into the airport and to enable the airport to expand." Alan Law of trade union NIPSA described the cuts as "devastating." "The impact of Air Passenger Duty continues to disproportionately affect the airport and this remains a huge issue which local politicians need to grasp," he said. Running at lossLast week, City of Derry Airport chairman, Roy Devine, told local councillors the airport would not break even until 2021/22. In August, Ryanair announced it was to reduce the number of flights it operates from City of Derry Airport to London Stansted. From 30 October, the Irish airline will cut its daily service and instead operate six flights per week. The Derry airport is currently running at a £2.145m loss per year, paid for by local ratepayers. following its successful installation at NATS, an air navigation services provider in the UK.
The Indra Navia instrument landing system (ILS) and associated Indra distance measuring equipment (DME) account for the airport’s latest investment in a technology, which has been designed and developed to facilitate safe aircraft landing. Pilots find it difficult to establish visual contact with the runway, especially in poor weather conditions. With the transmission of radio signals giving horizontal and vertical guidance, ILS technology can serve as a valuable precision runway-approach aid. The new Indra LDB-103 DME installed at Belfast International is the first of its type to be installed at a UK airport. Belfast International’s instrument and antenna upgrade was undertaken earlier this year and the work was completed by the NATS NAVAID installation team with no disruption to airport operations and flight schedules. NATS air traffic services general manager at Belfast International Airport Michael Cockcroft said: “It was good to see the various teams within NATS working together to meet our customer’s needs and expectations. “It was good to see the various teams within NATS working together to meet our customer’s needs and expectations. This exciting project has been delivered without any negative effect on service delivery and no erosion of safety margins. In mid-June, work was undertaken to replace the runway’s existing ILS with the new Runway 25 Indra Navia equipment, including a new localiser and glidepath antenna systems. Cockcroft added: “Careful management of the new antenna systems construction, which took place in front of the old structure, allowed operators to switch from one system to the other during the upgrade. This allowed us to ensure reliable continuity of service throughout the project without impacting either system’s performance.” Belfast International Airport managing director Graham Keddie said its investment in upgraded equipment gave the airport a clear advantage in the aviation sector: Keddie said: “The safety of passengers and aircraft is our number one priority and this equipment upgrade underlines that commitment. We are regarded as an airport of choice whenever pilots decide to divert in bad weather and now our status will be further enhanced. “Projects as technical as this one inevitably throw up a number of challenges but, working alongside the professional team from NATS, they were successfully resolved.” This replacement system completed its site acceptance testing and commissioning flight inspection in July and, following more than 300h of Category I service without incident, the new Runway 25 ILS system was upgraded to Category III earlier this month. It is now in full operation at Belfast International Airport. A rescue deal has been agreed to prevent US airline United ending its daily service between Belfast and New York.
Financial assistance, believed to be in the region of £9m over three years, will be provided with most of the money coming from Stormont. The BBC established United was set to axe the route next month, believing its aircraft could be more profitably used elsewhere. The managing director of Belfast International Airport, Graham Keddie, said: "Two weeks ago we had lost it."It was a Northern Ireland team effort to get it back."Economy Minister Simon Hamilton said the rescue package had the backing of the executive. "It is public money being spent to ensure we keep this very important route in place," said Mr Hamilton. He said the route was crucial to attracting US-inward investment. Northern Ireland politicians lobbied their counterparts in the US as part of the effort to have United re-think its initial decision. DUP MP for North Antrim Ian Paisley said: "Losing this route would have been a blow to the prestige of Northern Ireland. "Imagine the outcry if this had been lost." The Ulster Unionist MP for South Antrim, Danny Kinahan, added: "This is an excellent example of what can be achieved when political differences can be put aside." George Best Belfast City Airport (BCA) in Northern Ireland has awarded a contract to UK-based air traffic solutions provider NATS to deliver new air traffic control (ATC) services at the airport.
The contract marks the first time that ATC services at the airport have been given to an external company. BCA operations director Mark Beattie said: “We were delighted with the level of interest from top tier air navigation service providers (ANSPs) resulting in an open and highly competitive tender process. Management at Belfast International Airport say the decision by Virgin Atlantic to double the number of flights from Northern Ireland to Orlando next summer is a real vote of confidence in the local market.
From June 2017, two flights a week will depart for the Sunshine State, bringing the total number of direct flights to operate over the ensuing peak summer four-week period to eight. And it means more than 3,500 holiday-makers from Northern Ireland will use the popular carrier. Demand in the initial two years of service from Belfast has been buoyant with the result that the airline had no hesitation in expanding the service. Belfast International Airport business development director Uel Hoey said: “There was enormous excitement around the debut of non-stop flights last year from Belfast with Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays and the weight of demand has exceeded all preliminary expectations. “The International Airport is delighted Virgin has taken this decision, which is a real vote of confidence in the Northern Ireland market. "There is strong business here for a combination of quality airline service and an unwaveringly popular leisure destination, as is evident through both customer uptake and feedback from research. “The return of the Virgin Atlantic 747-400 which can carry 440 passengers, on a greater scale than before, is most welcome. We are experiencing solid double-digit growth in passenger numbers and, alongside our other airlines, Virgin Atlantic is helping to drive that business." He added: “Hundreds of new jobs have been created and many more will follow as we continue to expand our base in the second half of this year and next.” Airport today - as Luke Skywalker jets in to shoot scenes of the new Star Wars movie.
Actor Mark Hamill, who plays the famous Jedi Knight, was pictured leaving the airport via a side entrance on Friday morning. The arrival came after images of a set, believed to be the Millennium Falcon, were pictured in the Malin Head area of Donegal. Hamill arrived with other Star Wars actors including Adam Driver who played Kylo Ren and Daisy Ridley who played Ren in The Force Awakens film.That installment of the world’s most famous sci-fi saga ended with Skywalker arriving on a windswept world which was filmed at Skellig Michael off the Co Kerry coast. A plane bound for Greece, which returned to Belfast International Airport following concerns it had been struck by lightning, has resumed its journey. The flight, operated by Thomson Holidays, landed at the airport at about 15:30 BST on Saturday. Passengers were taken off the plane while detailed checks were carried out. The passengers were allowed to re-board less than two hours later and the plane took off at 17:15 BST. A spokesperson for Belfast International Airport said the plane had returned as a precaution and that checks had revealed it had not been hit by lightning. Ryanair has announced three new Polish destinations they will be flying to from Belfast International
The airline will start scheduled flights to Gdansk, Warsaw and Wrocław this winter. Ryanair will operate two flights per week to each city. The news comes after the airline announced seven new routes from the airport earlier this year. The airport's managing director, Graham Keddie, said it was "fantastic news". "It means that this winter should be our busiest ever," he said. He added that the routes "deliver a very comprehensive network to a new and important Polish market". Kenny Jacobs, from Ryanair, told Good Morning Ulster said there was a demand for more routes to Poland "from the business community". These routes join Ryanair's other routes from Belfast International: London Gatwick Milan Bergamo Lanzarote Tenerife South Berlin Schönefeld Alicante Malaga Kraków |
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