CityJet unveils new summer routes between Cork and France

CityJet is planning additional services between Cork and France from next summer, adding routes to Nantes and La Rochelle

The new Cork-La Rochelle service will operate twice a week on Tuesday and Saturday, with the Nantes route on Sunday. The flights will operate between June 18th and the end of August 2016.

Executive chairman Pat Byrne said the new routes would not only provide access to the tourist regions in France, but would also open up Cork to French visitors who wanted to see the city and the southwest of the country.

The news of the latest routes follows the announcement of CityJet’s airlink between Cork and London City Airport.

Managing director of Cork Airport Niall MacCarthy welcomed the news of the new routes.

CityJet is expecting to carry more than two million passengers in 2015 between its scheduled and chartered services, and a wet-lease programme for Air France. The company recently announced a contract with SAS to operate eight aircraft from March.

CityJet employs almost 500 people, the majority based in Swords, Co Dublin.

Separately, Aer Lingus has added new routes to its shorthaul summer 2016 offering, with 250,000 extra seats from Dublin, Cork and Shannon. The new routes include Pisa, Murcia, Montpellier, Dusseldorf and Liverpool.