23:47

Exeter to Belfast flights extended to 2022

British Airways has extended its service from Exeter Airport to Belfast City Airport to March next year, the airline has confirmed.

The flights had been due to finish at the end of October but have been extended to March 25, 2022 and are bookable now.

The announcement is further good news for Exeter Airport which continues to grow its route network following the impact of the pandemic and the closure of regional airline Flybe in 2020.

Exeter Airport has 28 UK and international destinations for 2021/22, which is more than three-quarters of what it had in early 2020.

Already this month the airport has seen flights re-start to Rhodes and Paphos, Cyprus, and year-round flights to Lanzarote, together with flights to Majorca which recommenced in July, all with TUI.

Ryanair meanwhile operates year-round flights from Exeter to Alicante and Malaga, which re-started in June.

The Belfast service will continue to operate up to four days a week with one-way prices from just £39 and a flight time of just over an hour.

Exeter Airport’s operations director, Steve Wiltshire, said: “British Airways’ Belfast service has proved very popular especially with the staycation market and we’re delighted to see it continue well into next year.

“And it’s great to see the return of our sunshine routes for autumn and winter as well. We expect many people who may have deferred a foreign holiday in the last 18 months take the opportunity to get way for a winter break from their local airport as coronavirus restrictions are relaxed.”

Exeter Airport offers the following routes for 2021/22: Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Guernsey, Isles of Scilly, Jersey, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Alicante, Antalya, Chambery, Corfu, Crete, Dalman, Gran Canaria, Heraklion, Ibiza, Lapland, Majorca, Malaga, Menorca, Palma, Paphos, Rhodes, Tenerife and Zante.

The airport has partnered with Government-approved test provider GDPQ to provide a range of on-site Covid-19 tests for travel including pre-departure and UK arrivals tests if required.