Changes to Aer Lingus’s schedules earlier this year have allowed the airline to boost flights on winter services from Dublin despite limits on the number of passengers the airport is allowed handle.
Aer Lingus hopes to cash in on demand for winter sun by adding Malta, Marrakesh and Seville to its October-to-March network and adding flights to some other existing destinations, the airline said.
Planners have limited Dublin Airport to 32 million passengers a year and the industry regulator, the Irish Aviation Authority, has capped airlines operating there to a total of 14.4 million seats from October to March.
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The carrier confirmed on Wednesday that changes to schedules earlier this year allowed it add extra capacity on some destinations for the winter “in the context of the constraint of the passenger cap at Dublin Airport”.
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Aer Lingus will fly to Seville in Spain which has year-round sun and attractions that include one of the world’s biggest cathedrals and the Royal Alcazar, a palace whose architecture blends Arabic and European influences. It also home to the Archive of the Indies, housing documents that detail Spain’s conquest of the new world.
Aer Lingus is also adding Malta to its winter schedule. The Mediterranean island has mild winter weather and its capital city, Valletta, is a world heritage site. It will also fly to Marrakesh, a Moroccan city whose popularity with holidaymakers is growing.
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Aer Lingus said it also planned to add flights to Faro in Portugal, a destination heavily favoured by Irish people, making it a year-round destination for the airline.
Similarly, it will fly 12 months of the year to Lanzarote and Tenerife, boost capacity to Nice until late November, and add services to Izmir, Turkey; Alicante, Spain; Greek capital Athens and other cities.
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