British regional carrier Eastern Airways on Wednesday said it would start a daily Southampton-Belfast service on February 9 next year, a move it said would "significantly improve" links between England's south coast and Northern Ireland.
Eastern Airways Commercial Director Roger Hage said the flights into Belfast International Airport would be a "major step in growing connectivity to the North of Ireland from our Southampton base".
The new route will pit Eastern Airways against Aer Lingus, which flies into Belfast City Airport from Southampton.
Uel Hoey, Belfast International Airport’s Business Development Director, says the hub is "thrilled to welcome Eastern Airways", adding the new route would "add a completely new string to the bow at Belfast International Airport as a long-established and successful UK regional airline".
With Belfast a 90 minute drive from Dublin, the new Belfast route would add to options for travellers from the south of England to the island of Ireland, Hage noted, with Southampton airport an hour by train from London's Waterloo station.
Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, an island-wide official tourism promotion body, said the announcement is "good news" for the tourism industry across Ireland. "There’s a proven direct correlation between access and growth in visitor numbers, so this new flight will certainly help boost tourism business from the South of England", he added.
Matt Hazelwood, Chief Commercial Officer of AGS Airports Ltd, which owns Southampton Airport, says he is "look[ing] forward to welcoming those passengers from across the Irish Sea who are keen to visit Southampton and all the city and the wider region has to offer.”
Fares on the new route will start from £59.99 one way and include a 10 kg hand baggage allowance and 15 kg checked baggage. Over the past weeks Eastern Waiways has announced new Humberside-Esbjerg and East-Midlands-Newquay routes, as well as a doubling of its Newquay Cornwall – Humberside connections to four per week.