BFS vs BHD
Are we seeing a shift in power up the road?
Despite BFS being by far the biggest airport in NI, despite the huge growth in continental flights following the route development fund and East European immigration, despite Aer Lingus choosing BFS as its new base, and despite the civil service contract going to Aer Lingus, it is clear that the tide has been runinng against BFS for a while.
Look at growth experienced in BHD over the last few years. Now while I have pondered Ryanair flights lost at LDY and have seen the same routes reappear with multiple daily frequencies at BHD, it is clear that most of the passengers for these flights are coming from the BFS catchment area.
I have long suspected that despite BFS being called Belfast International Airport, that most people from Belfast don't really regard it as Belfast's airport and have little love for it and would prefer to travel from BHD (if it wasn't for problems due to the flight cap, night flight restrictions and runway length etc). I mean look at the dirty track that masquerades as a road to BFS: if it was truly considered Belfast's main airport it would be a motorway by now . . . .
LDY Continental Flights?
Aer Lingus have now pulled 5 of their existing 9 routes having previously axed other routes. It was entirely predictable that something would have to give, Aer Lingus inexplicably choosing to operate the same routes as Easyjet. They should have opened at LDY!
But with the latest flight cuts there is now no flight from N.I. to Rome and that despite no competition on the route. And even with the seeming success (thus far) of the LDY-Alicante route, what are the chances now of European flights from LDY to say Paris (one of the Aer Lingus axed routes) if BFS is having problems?