British Airways stablemate Aer Lingus will operate the new route daily using an Airbus A320 aircraft. Flights will depart Knock at 1.05pm and arrive into Heathrow at 2.30pm. The inaugural service took off on Sunday afternoon (26 March).
Aer Lingus said the new link would allow travellers in the west of Ireland to take advantage of worldwide onward connections from Heathrow.
Knock, meanwhile, serves as a gateway for UK travellers to the Wild Atlantic Way, placed in the spotlight in recent months by Oscar-nominated film The Banshees of Inisherin.
According to Tourism Ireland, Great Britain is Ireland’s largest tourism market, making up 42% of visitors – pre-pandemic, nearly five million Brits were visiting Ireland annually, generating €1.4 billion in tourism revenue.
Aer Lingus chief executive Lynne Embleton said the new Knock service would not open up the west of Ireland to British visitors, but provide connectivity to more than 80 destinations worldwide through Heathrow for Irish travellers.
In addition, Aer Lingus has resumed Dublin flights to Hartford in the US state of Connecticut after a more than two-year hiatus.
Aer Lingus will operate the route daily, with flights departing Dublin at 2.10pm, arriving into Bradley International airport at 4.35pm – a flight time of seven hours and 25 minutes. Returns depart Hartford at 6pm and arrive into Dublin at 5.15am the following day.
It is the only direct service into the city from Europe. “After more than two years, it’s great to be back flying back to Hartford," added Embleton.
"Our daily flights, from and through Dublin, will bring travellers from Ireland, the UK and Europe into the centre of Connecticut which is home to global businesses and recognised as the insurance capital of the world.
"As the only European airline operating out of Hartford, we also offer a unique service to US customers, flying them directly on our non-stop service to Dublin, and through our Dublin hub, connecting them onwards to the most popular UK and European destinations.”
