Aer Lingus is considering flying to Cancún from Dublin in what would be its first Ireland-Mexico service as the carrier seeks to boost its transatlantic network.
The airline this month began a new service from the capital to Nashville, Tennessee, and is adding further European destinations this year.
It is now understood it is exploring the possibility of direct flights to Mexico, with the holiday resort of Cancún on the country’s east coast its likely choice of destination.
The airline did not comment on Friday, but the North American country is said to be high on its list of likely new destinations.
Cancún, on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula on its Caribbean coast, is one the country’s best-known resorts. The federal government planned and purpose-built the city for tourism.
Aer Lingus is in the process of taking delivery of new aircraft from its parent, International Airlines Group (IAG), and continues to seek new route opportunities.
Such a service would be the first direct flight to Mexico launched by an Irish carrier.
Cancún is popular with Irish holidaymakers seeking to step outside traditional sunspots in Europe or the United States, according to travel industry sources.
However, there are no direct flights to Mexico from Ireland, meaning anyone travelling to any destination there has to connect, mostly via flights to hubs in the US, some of which Aer Lingus serves.
The Irish airline and several North American rivals offer flights to the US and Canada, but there are no services to the rest of the Americas, despite strong indications of demand.
Last month, State airports company DAA said it was committed to establishing direct flights between Dublin and Brazil.
The company has received a petition signed by 30,000 Brazilians living in the State calling for the service.
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Kenny Jacobs, its chief executive, has met the country’s ambassador to the Republic, Flávio Helmold Macieira, to discuss the possibility of flights between Dublin and São Paulo in Brazil.
Launching the service would require the two states’ governments to strike a bilateral air travel agreement.
DAA says that while it is committed to establishing the link, a decision to operate the route would be a commercial one for any airline.
Carriers could require a resolution to the ongoing row over the 32-million-a-year passenger limit imposed on Dublin Airport by planners before deciding on such a move.
DAA has two planning applications before local planning authority Fingal County Council to increase the passenger cap.
Although the planning limit remains in place, the High Court has suspended its effective implementation, pending the outcome of a challenge brought by Aer Lingus, Ryanair and US group Airlines for America.
There was no indication when Aer Lingus was likely to decide on a Dublin-Mexico service.
