Aer Lingus took off for the newly returned Minneapolis St. Paul (MSP) route from Dublin Airport for the first time since it was paused in March 2020. This restart marks the full restoration of the airline’s pre-pandemic North American network. The non-stop service to MSP was first launched in July 2019, but was unfortunately paused less than a year later due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To meet the strong demand of this highly anticipated route restart, Aer Lingus will be offering four weekly (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays) roundtrip flights on a widebody Airbus A330 aircraft.
Minneapolis-St. Paul, more commonly known as the ‘Twin Cities’, offers a dynamic combination of both business and leisure. The thriving business scene boasts strong ties to Ireland, particularly in the biomedical and healthcare sectors. The metropolitan area is also renowned for its vibrant art, music, and culinary scenes. Whether there for business or pleasure, visitors have a plethora of attractions to enjoy, including the iconic Mall of America or even escaping to the lakes and beautiful parks nearby. Aer Lingus’ strategic expansion of its North American network reflects its commitment to its Dublin Hub strategy, offering seamless connections to Europe in addition to connection between North America and Ireland. Currently, almost half of booked passengers from MSP to DUB plan to connect at Dublin, with top destinations including London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Barcelona, and Berlin.
Commenting on the re-introduction of MSP to Aer Lingus’ North American network, Aer Lingus Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, Reid Moody said, “Aer Lingus is delighted to welcome the return of Minneapolis-St. Paul to our North American route network. There has been a noticeable demand from our passengers for the reinstatement of this route following the temporary pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are dedicated to offering passengers seamless connections between North America and Ireland, and onward from Ireland to the rest of Europe. The re-introduction of this route marks the airline’s full restoration of our pre-pandemic North American network and serves as testament to this commitment. Minneapolis-St Paul is a significant business destination within the US and we look forward to once again facilitating corporate links and connectivity between Europe and North America, through our Dublin Hub.”
