The first flight to the Minnesota airport since 2020 was due to leave today (30 April). The route will be operated four times a week with connections from 15 airports on mainland Britain.
 
Flights are operated by wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft, with one-way fares from the UK from £279.
 
The non-stop service to Minneapolis-St Paul was first launched in July 2019 but was paused less than a year later due to the pandemic. Minneapolis-St Paul has strong ties to Ireland, particularly in the biomedical and healthcare sectors.  
 
Reid Moody, Aer Lingus chief strategy and planning officer, 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. 
 
“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.”
 
Currently, almost half of passengers booked from Minneapolis-St Paul to Dublin plan to connect at Dublin, with top destinations including London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Barcelona and Berlin. 
 
Aer Lingus has revamped its Business Class menu inspired by Irish cuisine and claims faster WiFi speeds due to next-generation satellites and improved coverage across transatlantic routings. 
 
In addition, the entertainment library is expanded by a third, with more films, documentaries and the latest TV shows.