Emerald Airlines, the carrier operating Air Lingus Regional service, is growing its offering from Belfast (BHD), adding its seventh and eighth destinations served from the Northern Ireland capital.

From July 7, Emerald will launch flights from BHD to Cardiff (CWL) in Wales and Southampton (SOU) in England. The routes will be operated with ATR-72-600 turboprop aircraft.

The BHD-CWL service will be flown 4X-weekly while the BHD-SOU route will be operated daily.

“As we near the peak summer months, the launch of our Cardiff and Southampton services will provide those traveling from Belfast with more choice when planning their holidays,” Emerald commercial head Ciarán Smith said in a statement. “When quick getaways are on the top of everyone’s mind, we are offering convenient timings and low fares, increasing connectivity to and from Northern Ireland.”

The carrier has a base at Belfast. “Cardiff and Southampton are great new connections that will cater to both business and leisure travelers with [nonstop], convenient and cost-effective flights from Belfast," Smith said. "In addition, we will continue to add more routes and increase frequencies over the coming months.”

BHD aviation development manager Ellie McGimpsey said: “Aer Lingus Regional’s base at Belfast City Airport has been operational for just over three months, and we are thrilled to already see expansion in both the number of routes served by the airline and the frequency of its services. With the addition of Cardiff and Southampton, Aer Lingus Regional will now operate routes to eight of the 21 destinations Belfast City Airport will fly to this summer."