British airways is launching four new domestic routes from Belfast this summer, supporting important business and tourism links between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Over the next few months, the airline’s regional subsidiary, BA CityFlyer will start to operate 18 flights a week between George Best Belfast City Airport and Exeter, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford and Newquay Airports. The new routes will run alongside existing British Airways services between Belfast and London City and London Heathrow Airports.

Customers can book via ba.com from today, with return fares from Belfast to these new destinations starting from £48 each way.

“We’re delighted to announce these new services from Belfast, which will enhance our regional network and maintain vital connections between Northern Ireland and other key UK destinations”, commented BA CityFlyer MD Tom Stoddart.

He continued: “We’re sure these routes will be popular with customers getting away for a UK holiday this summer, as well as those visiting friends and relatives, and we’ll continue to listen to their feedback about where they want to travel. We also welcome the recent announcement about the NI domestic aviation kickstart scheme and await further details with great interest.”

Belfast City Airport commercial director Katy Best said: “Continuity on these services is excellent news for domestic connectivity to and from Northern Ireland. operated by Embraer 190 jets, these routes will greatly complement the existing British Airways services to London Heathrow and London City, enabling passengers to enjoy the excellent British airways experience to a greater number of destinations.”

Customers booking with BA can do so with absolute confidence, thanks to the airline’s flexible booking policy. Passengers are able to exchange their booking for a voucher or move their dates without incurring a change fee if their plans change.

Earlier this month it was announced that BA CityFlyer would take over a number of the routes previously operated by Stobart Air, which ceased operations at the end of last week. The carrier, Belfast City Airport’s biggest airline, was operating flights on behalf of Aer Lingus Regional.

Some 12 routes have been affected by the regional airline’s collapse. Aer Lingus is to pick up five of those, including Belfast to Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester and from Dublin to Edinburgh, while BA CityFlyer is to take over another two – Belfast City to Leeds and Exeter – as an interim measure.