Not sure how true this is but this is on BFS wiki site:
It has been announced by Belfast International Airport senior staff that the airport is in talks with many major airlines to start long haul routes. As of 2013, the only scheduled long haul destination is New York Newark, flown by United Airlines. The airport hopes to add flights to Toronto, hopefully by 2014, operated by either Air Canada or Air Transat, however Air Canada is the preferred airline of choice. Also, Etihad Airlines is planning on opening a route from it's Abu Dhabi base, however it is believed that Boeing 787-9 aircraft will be used, which will not be delivered to the carrier until 2015. Austrian Airlines is also believed to be planning on starting seasonal flights between Belfast and Vienna: the airline currently flies from Belfast to Innsbruck, and flies inbound charter flights from Vienna. belfast International Airport is also in talks with Lufthansa Group and Air Berlin, to begin operating flights to Germany: currently only inbound charter flights operated by Denim Air connect Belfast with Germany. In addition to this, Air China is believed to be planning to fly from Beijing to Belfast, as many Chinese businesses have been investing heavily in Northern Ireland in recent years, and is Northern Ireland has become a tourist hotspot. It has also been announced that if all of these routes come into operation, Belfast International could become a Star Alliance "Mini Hub", whereby passengers could fly between New York and Vienna, for example, via Belfast. A Star Alliance Lounge could also be constructed for passenger comfort, however this, according to Belfast International Airport, is unlikely.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfas...tional_Airport