Dermot Mannion, Aer Lingus's chief executive, along with other senior executives, will be at Aldergrove airport this morning for the opening of the new Aer Lingus service from Belfast to London.
DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson said: "What has proven to be Belfast's gain has been a loss for Shannon, and I do hope in time they will be able to regain some of these slots, and I wish them well with that."
Speaking to The Irish Times, ahead of the first flight to Heathrow from Aldergrove at 7.40am today, Mr Donaldson added: "However, we live in a competitive world and this is one of the consequences of such competition into the busiest airport in the world."
Mr Donaldson played an important part in smoothing the arrival of Aer Lingus in the North after Aer Lingus decided to transfer its Shannon to Heathrow service to Aldergrove, using its Heathrow slots for the Belfast service. Belfast International Airport, commonly known as Aldergrove, is 18 miles from Belfast.
Aer Lingus is now in competition with BMI - British Midland - which has services to Heathrow from the George Best Belfast City Airport. Mr Donaldson said he would be using both services. "I won't be afraid to use Aer Lingus when it is the convenient option," he said.
"This is a major boost for our economy and for both business and tourist visitors to Northern Ireland.
"While BMI has continued to run an excellent service between Belfast City Airport and London Heathrow, I think it is important to have this expansion to open up the scope for further destinations from Belfast International using the Heathrow hub," he said.
It was also further evidence of Aer Lingus's commitment to the expansion of routes from Belfast, he added.
