Ireland’s flag carrier, Aer Lingus will end its service connecting its hub in Dublin to London/Gatwick Airport on March 31, according to the RTÉ. The information was confirmed by the airline, and flights in the route are not available on the airline’s website from April 1 on.
This month, Aer Lingus operated up to five daily frequencies between the two airports, according to data from Cirium’s schedules.
The move will see Aer Lingus serving only Heathrow Airport in the London area, with nonstop flights to Cork, up to four times daily, Dublin, up to eleven, Knock, with six weekly frequencies, and Shannon, with up to three frequencies a day.
To the RTÉ, the airline confirmed the decision, «following a review of route performance», with affected customers to be contacted shortly.
Between Dublin and London/Gatwick, Aer Lingus faced competition from Ryanair, which according to Cirium is offering up to eight daily flights connecting both airports.
Following the announcement, the Irish ultra low-cost carrier was quick to publish one of its «rescue fares» press releases, titled «Slán leat – Aer Lingus», «Slán leat» meaning goodbye in Irish.
«We will be happy to welcome the few Aer Lingus passengers on the Gatwick route at Ryanair’s rescue fares starting from just €19.99», stated Ryanair’s Head of Communications, Jade Kirwan.
According to Cirium, Aer Lingus had been serving Gatwick uninterruptedly since 2007, having served the airport other times previously. In 2009, it launched a base in the airport, which was scaled down in 2010 and closed in 2015.
Out of Gatwick, the Dublin to London market remains connected through London/City (BA CityFlyer), London/Heathrow (Aer Lingus and British Airways), London/Luton (Ryanair) and London/Stansted (Ryanair).
While capacity in the first quarter of 2024, measured by ASKs, is to be 2,8% above the same period of 2023, it is still lagging behind pre-pandemic levels, being 8,7% below the same period of 2019.
