Aer Lingus is adding new flights from Cork this summer, including to Santiago de Compostela, while expanding existing services, the airline said on Monday.
Cork handled 3.46 million passengers last year, making it the Republic’s second biggest airport, while it is working on a €200 million expansion that will allow it cater for more than five million people.
Aer Lingus said on Monday that it plans to begin flying from there to Santiago de Compostela in Spain in June and to Nice in the south of France a month earlier.
Meanwhile, it will extend its services to Czech capital Prague to year-round from winter only.
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The carrier’s regional service, operated by Emerald Airlines, is boosting flights on its Cork-Glasgow route to six times a week from four.
Santiago is the capital of Spain’s Galicia region. It is popular with Irish travellers. The city is best known as one of Europe’s oldest Christian shrines.
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It is the destination of the Camino pilgrimage routes and its cathedral houses the reputed remains of St James the Apostle, patron of Spain.
Close to the Italian border, Nice is in France’s Alpes Maritimes region on the country’s Mediterranean coast. It is one of the biggest cities on the Côte d’Azur, a popular destination for tourists.
Susanne Carberry, Aer Lingus chief customer officer, noted that the airline had added six new routes from Cork over the last 12 months.
“Our summer 2026 offering is our most diverse offering yet,” she added.
Ian Lough, head of commercial at Emerald Airlines, said the expansion of the Aer Lingus Regional Cork-Glasgow service reflected strong demand for the flights.
Tara Finn, head of aviation business development and communications at Cork Airport, predicted that the new and extended services would increase choice for travel from there this year.
Cork Airport calculates that its business adds more than €1 billion to the economy and supports more than 12,000 jobs directly and indirectly.
State airports company, DAA’s investment plan for Cork includes a new mezzanine floor, extended security facilities, new boarding gate and extra car parking.
Work began on the project last year.
