Lufthansa Expansion: Airline Adds New Routes, Including Belfast to Frankfurt
Lufthansa Aircraft | © Tim Denhert

German Airline, Lufthansa, has announced new routes and flight connections between some of the country’s major cities and worldwide destinations. The expansion is set to bring Lufthansa operations up to 87% of their pre-Covid levels.

Pre-Covid numbers

In the hopes that the airline will return to its 2019 passenger numbers by the end of 2019, Lufthansa has used its expected high summer demand to propel its growth plans. The company will go from 195 destinations to 205 as it adds ten new connection routes from Frankfurt and Munich.

New Routes Between Germany and the UK

In exciting news for Germany and the UK, Lufthansa is launching a new flight route between its Frankfurt Airport (FRA) hub and Northern Ireland’s Belfast International Airport (BFS). The decision makes the path Northern Ireland’s only direct air route into Germany and is scheduled to start on 23rd April 2023. The airline is set to operate flights between the two airports up to four times per week, significantly increasing Ireland’s connectivity with Western Europe.

A Lufthansa Aircraft on a runway
Lufthansa is the first German airline to enter the Northern Irish market | © Miguel Angel Sanz

Dr Frank Wagner, Lufthansa’s general manager of sales for the UK, Ireland and Iceland, said,

“We are excited to announce the addition of Belfast City Airport to Lufthansa’s global network with the inaugural flight to Frankfurt on 23rd April 2023.”

The move should also mark a positive shift for tourism in both regions. Commercial director at Belfast Airport, Katy Best, added, “Attracting an airline such as Lufthansa to Northern Ireland that will provide the only route from the region to German is a major win, not for the airport, but the wider tourism and business industry.”

Belfast is just one of the five routes added from FRA, as London’s Gatwick Airport will become the third London airport to operate with Lufthansa. The flight path will be in service twice a day.

Further Expansion

Outside of the UK, the airline has also made plans to connect its Frankfurt and Munich hub with Spain’s Asturias Airport between one to three times per week and North Macedonia’s Skopje International Airport twice a week. As of 29th April, it will also service Biarritz Pays Basque Airport in France once a week.

Also, operating from Munich International Airport from 25th April will be flights to and from Bordeaux airport, and a daily flight connection to Poland’s Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport starting the 23rd of the same month.

Check in sign showing Lufthansa check-in options at Munich International Airport, Terminal 2
Expansion plans also include adding new flight routes from Munich International Airport | © Waldermar Brandt

What do you think of the new flight route between Germany and Northern Ireland? Let us know in the comments.

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