The first of twice-weekly summer flights from Dublin to Trieste lifted off on March 29 as part of budget carrier Ryanair's summer offerings..
Tourism officials in the Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy welcomed the launch of the route to the regional capital, where Irish novelist James Joyce lived for around a decade from 1904.
Officials in Friuli Venezia Giulia hope that the memory of Joyce, whose works include Finnegans Wake, Ulysees and Dubliners, will prompt an influx of Dubliners and others from Ireland to visit.
"The literary cafés were popular meeting places for writers and artists and the multiculturalism of the city was a great source of inspiration for the author," according to the local tourism authority, which added that the nearby sandy beaches and the "grand architecture" of Trieste would add to the array of attractions to Irish passengers.