Latest News

bmibaby, possibly the only carrier in the world to have a strange alien infant as a mascot, is to begin running flights from Stansted International to Belfast City Airport in Ireland.

The airline will operate the route three times a day during the week, and once on a Sunday. bmibaby claims that it will become the only carrier to travel between the two destinations when the route goes live on March 28 2011.

Perhaps even more exciting, for explorers of far-flung lands at least, is the news that Albanian airline Belle Air has introduced a twice-weekly flight from Stansted to Tirana, the capital of Albania. The service, announced by “forward thinking” newspaper Cambridge First, is one of just two direct flights to Tirana available from the UK.

Speaking about the new Belfast City route, bmibaby's director, Julian Carr, said that the flight was “ideal” for any customer, business or leisure, who wishes to travel between Ireland and London. bmibaby's parent company, premium airline bmi, noted that the new Belfast-Stansted route would “complement” an existing flight from the Irish city to Heathrow Airport.

Belfast City is rapidly becoming the airport of choice for major airlines in Ireland. Manx2, an airline based at Ballasalla on the Isle of Man, and bmibaby have both jumped ship in recent months, moving their planes from Belfast International to Belfast City, a development that has angered Exeter-based carrier Flybe. The white-and-blue airline was previously the dominant airline at City.

Tickets for Belfast-Stansted cost from £23.99, one-way, whereas Belle Air’s route to Albania comes in at around €280 (£233) for a return ticket in economy class departing on 1 April 2011 and returning on the following Monday. Eager visitors can book flights to and from the Albanian city on the Belle Air website.