Northern Ireland’s largest airline easyJet has celebrated 25 years of flying passengers to and from Belfast International Airport.

The airline operated its largest ever flying programme from Belfast International this summer with 9.4% per cent more capacity than pre-pandemic, flying 3.2 million seats.

The airline welcomed an 8th A320 family aircraft to the base for this summer and has flown over 4.5 million passengers in the last year.

Unrivalled short-haul network continues to go from strength to strength, with inaugural flights from to Hurghada in Egypt and to Southampton set to take off for the first time later this month.

easyJet, Europe's leading airline and the largest airline in Northern Ireland is celebrating 25 years of flying passengers to and from Belfast International Airport.

To mark the occasion the airline surprised passengers flying from Belfast International with giveaways throughout the day including free easyJet return flights. Other celebrations, including cake giveaways, happened at the airport throughout the morning.

Since easyJet’s very first flight from Belfast to London Luton a quarter of a century ago, the airline has gone from strength to strength flying over 70 million passengers in that time with over 4.5 million flown in last year. This year easyJet welcomed its eighth Airbus A320 family aircraft to the base, the most since operations began, demonstrating the airline’s long-term commitment to Northern Ireland and operated its largest flying programme from Belfast International with 9.4% more capacity than pre-pandemic, flying 3.2 million seats to and from Belfast International.

In the past year, the airline’s network has gone from strength to strength, adding four new routes to Antalya in Turkey, Rhodes in Greece, Southampton and most recently Hurghada, providing connections between Belfast and Egypt for the first time.

easyJet now offers more capacity from Belfast to Spain and Portugal than any other airline and links Belfast International with more London airports than any other airline, providing over 90 flights a week from Belfast International.

Ali Gayward, easyJet UK country manager, commented: ”For over two decades, we are proud to have served millions of customers flying from Belfast International, where we have grown to become the largest airline not just as the airport but in Northern Ireland, with customers choosing us for our unrivalled network, fantastic service and great value fares."

“And our continued success at Belfast International is testament to the strong demand we see for travel, coupled with the importance of the UK market in supporting our profitable growth."

“I have to thank our fantastic customers who have travelled from Belfast International Airport with us over the past 25 years for their loyalty and support as well as our dedicated team in Belfast for their hard work and commitment. We can’t wait to see where the next 25 years takes us.”

Graham Keddie, Managing Director, Belfast International Airport, said: “easyJet revolutionised air travel when they arrived at Belfast international Airport 25 years ago. They have become an integral part of the airport’s growth in that time, bringing unrivalled connectivity, significant investment and providing employment to hundreds of people. We are incredibly proud to stand alongside them today to celebrate this fantastic milestone. We look forward to the launch of new routes later this month to both Hurghada and Southampton and also to working alongside them on further developments.”

Last month the airline put on sale its summer 2024 schedule on sale meaning millions of seats across 155,000 easyJet flights between 3 June 2024 and 1 September 2024 including thousands of flights to and from Belfast International are now available, so customers have the opportunity to book early and get the best fares for next summer.

For more information on easyJet’s network from Belfast, visit easyJet.com.