Belfast International airport is the second busiest air passenger terminal in Ireland only behind Aer Lingus’ main operational base: Dublin airport. For disambiguation purposes, it must be said that Belfast in the United Kingdom has another airport located much closer to the centre and commonly referred to as Belfast City -officially George Best Belfast City airport-, but this Flybe hub is considerably smaller and focuses on domestic operations. On the other hand, Belfast International handles flights to a long list of European cities, operations between Ireland and some of the hottest holiday destinations in Spain, Greece and Italy and a long-haul route to Orlando (Florida) in the USA.
Flying to and from Belfast International airport
Will you be catching a flight out of Belfast for your holiday soon? Perhaps searching for cheap flights to Ireland? The airlines listed below fly to Belfast International airport either regularly or on a seasonal basis.
Easyjet currently offers flights from Belfast to Alicante, London (Gatwick, Luton and Stansted), Reykjavik, Keflavik, Split, Mallorca, Naples, Lyon, Lanzarote, Geneva, Ibiza, Barcelona, Dubrovnik, Birmingham, Amsterdam, Glasgow, Krakow, Manchester, Venice, Bristol and Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Jet2.com handles operations to Fuerteventura, Funchal, Tenerife, Almería, Antalya, Heraklion, Malta, Paphos, Rhodes and Salzburg from Belfast International airport.
While Ryanair flies to destinations like Bergamo, Berlin Schönefeld, Gdansk, Málaga, Warsaw and Wroclaw from this point, Tui connects Belfast with Corfu and the majority of the Spanish islands, Virgin Atlantic provides links to Orlando in USA and Wizz Air covers the route between Belfast and Vilnius.
Commuting from the airport to Belfast city centre
Belfast International airport in Northern Ireland lies 21 kilometres away from the downtown, a distance that can be easily covered thanks to the Airport Express bus line (300), with services running Monday through Sunday every fifteen minutes (except for off-peak times). Single tickets cost eight pounds and return ones cost eleven pounds, and they can be purchased at the tourist information office in the arrivals hall, from the driver or by downloading the mLink mobile app at no charge.
Some travellers prefer to travel by taxi from Belfast International to central Belfast, since official taxis are available outside the public area of the terminal 24/7. For greater independence, one can also hire a vehicle at any of the car rental offices in the arrivals area: Enterprise, Budget, Europcar, Avis or Hertz.
WiFi in Belfast International airport
As a passenger in transit, you will be entitled to 2 hours of free WiFi in the departures lounge of Belfast International airport. All you need to do is select the wireless internet option in your device, choose the airport network and complete a simple registration process for your safety.
Restaurants and shops in Belfast International airport
The shopping and dining options inside the terminal building are distributed among two levels and found both before and after the security screening.
On level 1, in the public area before passport control and by the check-in counters, there is a WHSmith outlet and a Café Ritazza restaurant. Should you need to exchange currency before leaving Ireland, you will find a Bureau de Change office right before the escalators leading to the departures lounge.
Once we have cleared security, we discover that level 2 comprises a nice selection of stores and food outlets among which we count Aelia Duty Free, Dixons Travel, Superdrug, The Lagan, Starbucks, Sip & Stone and Burger King.
Hotel in Belfast International airport: the Maldron
Will you need to stay overnight near Belfast International? Sleeping in a transit hotel close to the facilities of the airport is highly recommended when you have a very early morning flight to catch or to reduce stress on business trips.
Conveniently situated only fifty metres from the terminal building, the Maldron hotel in Belfast International airport provides spacious individual, double, twin, executive and family guest rooms as well as onsite amenities like a restaurant, complimentary wireless internet connection, round-the-clock room service and left-luggage, to mention but a few.
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