Aer Lingus launched its inaugural flight from Dublin to Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina on Monday. This new route will directly connect the Tar Heel State and Ireland, whilst also offering seamless onward connections through Dublin to the UK and Europe. This service will operate up to five times weekly on Aer Lingus’ new Airbus A321XLR aircraft. The service is scheduled to depart Dublin at 15.30 with an 18.55 arrival time at Raleigh-Durham. The inaugural service, operated by EI-XLT, is expected to land around 20 minutes early. The return service departs from Raleigh Durham at 20.35 with a scheduled arrival in Dublin at 08.45 the following morning.
The new route to the Raleigh-Durham region brings increased connectivity to North Carolina’s Research Triangle, which includes Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. The innovation hub is home to Research Triangle Park (RTP), one of the largest research parks in the world, which houses hundreds of tech and biotech companies. The region is also home to top universities such as North Carolina State University (Raleigh), Duke University (Durham) and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, making it a hub for innovation, research and higher education.
The new Dublin-Raleigh-Durham service is perfectly poised to serve fans from the University of North Carolina (UNC) travelling to the 2026 Aer Lingus College Football Classic in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin, this August. UNC will take on Texas Christian University (TCU) in the opening weekend of the NCAA college football season in what will be the international debut for both teams. In 2025, the Aer Lingus College Football Classic attracted almost 23,000 visitors from the U.S. to Ireland.
The inaugural flight, EI85, from Dublin to Raleigh-Durham International Airport further supports Aer Lingus’ Dublin Hub strategy, offering customers convenient connections between North America and Europe. The new service connects the Raleigh-Durham region with more than 20 destinations across the UK and Europe, including Glasgow, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, London and Madrid. Next month, Aer Lingus will also launch a new service to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, bringing the airline’s total number of routes from Ireland to North America to 24.
Commenting ahead of the first departure, the Chief Executive Officer of Aer Lingus, Lynne Embleton, said: “Our new route creates a direct connection between Ireland and the Raleigh-Durham region for the first time, making it even easier for customers to travel to Dublin and onwards to destinations across the UK and Europe. The Raleigh-Durham region is a hub for technology, innovation and research, and this additional connectivity to that region will allow the business and educational ties on both sides of the Atlantic to flourish. Launching ahead of the 2026 Aer Lingus College Football Classic makes this service especially timely, and we’re really looking forward to welcoming UNC fans to Ireland this August as the Tar Heels take to the field at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.”
Also commenting was the Chair of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority Board, Tammie Hall-Roberts, who said, “Dublin is one of the most sought-after international destinations for Research Triangle-area travellers, and the nonstop Aer Lingus service makes for a quick and convenient journey. RDU is proud to welcome an exciting new route that connects our community to new adventures and business opportunities in Ireland and beyond.”
