New destinations and extra services on popular routes

An Aer Lingus flight taking off from Cork Airport (Image: David Creedon)

Rebel holidaymakers will have plenty to choose from this summer as Aer Lingus confirmed it will be bringing two new routes to Cork Airport as part of its already jam-packed summer schedule. The airline has consistently expanded its offerings out of Cork in recent months and is now adding additional flights on several popular routes.

Starting this summer, sunchasers will be able to lounge on the beaches of the French Riviera or explore the Galician capital with new direct routes to Nice, France, and Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. The inaugural flights for each of the new routes will take off on May 2 and June 1, respectively.

Aer Lingus has confirmed that its Cork-Prague service will be extended year-round, rather than operating only during the winter schedule. The airline will operate twice-weekly flights between Cork and the Czech Republic’s capital, on Mondays and Thursdays.

The airline has also increased capacity on Aer Lingus Regional flights to Glasgow, which are operated by Emerald Airlines. From May 25, 2026, the Glasgow route will increase from 4 to 6 weekly flights, with additional services on Tuesdays and Wednesdays

These new options build on Aer Lingus’ popular Cork services to destinations including Malaga, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Faro, Palma de Mallorca, Bilbao, Bordeaux, and London Heathrow. The airline has added a total of 6 new routes from Cork Airport over the last 12 months.

Ian Lough, Head of Commercial at Emerald Airlines, said: “We are delighted to be enhancing our services from Cork Airport with an increase in capacity on our popular Glasgow route. The addition of two extra weekly flights for summer 2026 reflects the strong demand we continue to see and reinforces our commitment to offering greater choice, flexibility and convenience for passengers travelling from Cork.”

Aer Lingus recently announced the extension of its current 10kg carry-on baggage policy across all Aer Lingus Regional flights operated by Emerald Airlines, effective from March 3, 2026. Customers who book a Plus or Advantage fare with Aer Lingus or Aer Lingus Regional will be able to bring a free 10kg carry-on bag, regardless of destination.

Customers who book a Saver fare can pay to take a bag on board or simply check it into the hold for free. AerClub members will also have their baggage benefits extended across the Aer Lingus Regional network.

Tara Finn, Head of Aviation Business Development and Communications at Cork Airport, said: “We are delighted to see Aer Lingus Regional increase its capacity from Cork to Glasgow for our 2026 summer schedule, as well as the addition of new Aer Lingus routes to Santiago de Compostela, Nice and the extension of Prague year-round. With these additions, passengers will have even more choice for travel from Cork Airport this coming summer.”

Cork Airport has been continually expanding its summer and winter schedules in recent years, and its ambitious €200m upgrade plan is still well underway.

Work has begun on a new mezzanine floor above the existing arrivals area – and now it’s set to improve even more by the summer, with an upgrade of the airport’s Wi-Fi hardware; the introduction of a new car park booking system with automatic number plate recognition technology; the installation of new self-service bag-drop kiosks for Aer Lingus customers and the installation of a new airbridge.

Cork Airport has also taken delivery of a third airbridge, installed to provide “even easier and convenient access for passengers when boarding or disembarking an aircraft.”

Representing an investment of €1.4 million, the new airbridge will be located at Gate 6 and will become operational over the coming weeks, in plenty of time for the summer season, which starts next month. The new airbridge was constructed by TKE and was transported from Spain to Cork in January of this year.

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