WINDSOR LOCKS - For the first time in nearly a decade, Bradley International Airport will offer a trans-Atlantic flight. Aer Lingus launched their direct flight to Dublin, Ireland on Wednesday, September 28.
The flight will run seven days a week until November 1. It will then run on a reduced schedule until late spring, when it will return to running every day.
Aer Lingus said they are including “customs clearing” in Dublin, which means travelers will have cleared customs while still in Ireland and that on the return flight to Connecticut they will essentially be traveling back as domestic fliers.
"There is a lot of excitement surrounding this inaugural flight coming into the airport as well as our first flight out to Dublin. This flight really elevates the stature of Bradley Airport and certainly the region. Our businesses in this region have been asking for this global connectivity and we feel this flight will deliver it," said Kevin Dillon, Executive Director of the Connecticut Airport Authority.
Connecticut officials view this flight as a potential boost to economic development by making international travel directly to and from Connecticut easier. Aer Lingus officials are calling this direct flight a “gateway to Europe” as there are 28 connecting destinations from Dublin, including Amsterdam, London, Barcelona, Madrid, and Paris.
This is the second attempt by Bradley at a trans-Atlantic flight in the last decade. In 2007, Northwest Airlines launched a direct flight to Amsterdam but cancelled it about a year later. The airline merged with Delta at that time and pointed to high fuel costs and a poor economy for the low ridership.
