Dublin Airport welcomes Aer Lingus’ new direct service to Philadelphia.

The airline is operating its year-round services four times per weekly initially, increasing to a daily service from May 2018.

Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison said of the launch: “This is Aer Lingus’ 11th transatlantic route from Dublin Airport and we are delighted to see its route network go from strength to strength.”

He added: “I have no doubt Philadelphia will be a popular destination for both business and leisure passengers and will further boost trade and travel between Ireland and the US.”

Passengers travelling on Aer Lingus’ new service to Philadelphia will use US Pre Clearance facilities at Dublin Airport meaning passengers save time on arrival in the US by completing all the necessary immigration and customs checks prior to departure. The only queue a pre cleared passenger encounters on arrival in the US is the taxi queue to their final destination.

Since 2014, Aer Lingus working with Dublin Airport, have significantly expanded its North American business and built a substantial transfer business. The new service to Philadelphia will have onward connections from Dublin Airport to 24 other cities including Berlin, Edinburgh, Brussels and Hamburg.

According to Mr Harrison: “Dublin Airport’s transatlantic traffic has doubled in the past five years and Dublin is now the fifth largest airport in Europe for North American connectivity after Heathrow, Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam”.

Aer Lingus’ new service to Philadelphia is the first of five new long-haul routes to launch this year. Aer Lingus will launch Seattle in the coming weeks, Air Canada will operate flights to Montreal, Cathay Pacific will launch a new direct route to Hong Kong and Hainan Airlines will start direct services to Beijing.