Emerald Airlines speeds launch date for Aer Lingus

DUBLIN - Aer Lingus fills the Stobart Air void: Emerald Airlines is stepping in earlier than expected on regional hub-feed services.

The crisis took Stobart Air into liquidation. By mid-June, Aer Lingus lost its regional partner.

The IAG airlines pushed Emerald Airlines to accelerate the start of its flight ops - the airline startup will operate a feeder network on behalf of Aer Lingus in Dublin, Belfast and Cork with two ATR 72s.

Emerald Airlines was not due to replace Stobart Air as Aer Lingus' regional partner before 2022 earlier. The ATR 72s are sourced from the Australian market - and were part of the fleet of Virgin Australia once.