Aer Lingus suspending operation between Belfast City Airport and London Heathrow

[jasT1981]

Aer Lingus will be suspending its Belfast to Heathrow route, with BA taking the slots.

https://www.itv.com/news/utv/2022-10-14/aer-lingus-suspending-belfast-city-airport-to-london-heathrow-service?fbclid=IwAR2w2Gacl_seajP2N_3Id-wCAEtkaFJMMFpMfXftk-L5LM1ZcgIwfQ8VUu4

[Angry Turnip]

That` a bit odd, watch as " sister airline " BA put their prices up. Are Flybe still using Dash 8`s on the BHD-LHR route?

[Ed Winchester]

Flybe will be changing BHD-LHR-BHD


TO

BHD-IOM-LHR-IOM-BHD

[jasT1981]

That` a bit odd, watch as " sister airline " BA put their prices up. Are Flybe still using Dash 8`s on the BHD-LHR route?

Belfast Telegraph went into more details.

No longer are EI registered aircraft allowed to fly UK domestic routes due to Brexit and CAA regulations and Aer Lingus’s air operators certificate is expiring at the end of October

 https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/aer-lingus-flights-from-belfast-london-to-be-suspended-temporarily-as-trade-union-blames-brexit-for-changes-42066333.html

[Angry Turnip]

Does that include the Ryanair flights from City of Derry I wonder, maybe they are using the Maltesers on their routes.

[Ed Winchester]

They have Ryanair UK with one G- reg 737
The additional aircraft are "wet leased"

[EchoIndia]

They have Ryanair UK with one G- reg 737
The additional aircraft are "wet leased"

Ryanair UK have eight 737s (i.e. on UK register). The CAA were apparently not happy with a model that would have seen EU-registered aircraft leased in to supplement a one-aircraft operation. https://www.planespotters.net/airline/Ryanair-UK

[smudge]

It's not that their AOC is expiring ( their UK one is valid ), it's that the CAA are finally saying that they can't continue domestic UK ops on their Irish AOC.  They've had nearly two years grace in order to sort it out.

Their UK AOC is held by Aer Lingus (NI) Ltd who ironically enough are headquartered at Belfast City Airport, though they only have the A321 and A330 on the cert which are operated from Manchester.  It is difficult to see the logic, Captain...

Meanwhile Emerald Airlines UK Ltd, headquartered in Newry, are still waiting for their UK AOC to be issued.  AT76 G-CMJN has done route-proving and is parked at EGAC awaiting the paperwork for revenue services.

[EchoIndia]

The consensus view on other forums is that it would create new inflexibilities for Aer Lingus if they created, in effect, a UK A320 sub-fleet for this one route.  That would preclude the day-to-day rotation/integration of equipment and crews which has been possible to date.  It's not that a small UK A320 fleet is not possible - more that it does not make sufficient business sense.  The UK now being outside the EU is the root of this.