Aer Lingus to offer direct flight from Cleveland Hopkins to Dublin in May 2023

Traveling abroad from Northeast Ohio to Europe is about to get a bit more simple.

Aer Lingus announced Wednesday that it is adding a new non-stop transatlantic route from Cleveland's Hopkins International Airport to Dublin starting May 19, 2023.

Reid Moody, Aer Lingus chief strategy and planning officer, pointed out that he had to take a flight from Dublin to Chicago then board a connecting flight to Cleveland to attend Wednesday's press conference where the new service was announced.

This journey took some 13 hours.

With the new direct service, Moody said, it will take just eight hours with no stops to fly between the two cities.

And it is important to note, Moody said, that Dublin is the airline's hub with service to 20 other cities in Europe including London, Paris and Amsterdam.

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Another benefit this service will offer, he said, is those passengers boarding in Dublin will not have to pass through customs once arriving back in Cleveland and will be treated like domestic travelers.

Passengers will board an Airbus A321neo LR that has a business cabin for 16 passengers and economy class cabin with some 168 seats once the service starts.

These newer aircrafts use 20 percent less fuel and are 50 percent quieter than previous generations.

The aircraft has some creative comforts for passengers, too, including internet service along with movies and meals.

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said the announcement is the culmination of months of work by city, county and state officials to secure the new direct flight.

And as much as this will be important for residents to visit relatives and tourists traveling back and forth, Husted said, this is important for the growth of major companies like Sherwin Williams that call Northeast Ohio home and even Intel as it looks to build a chip plant in Ohio and already has some 1,400 employees in Ireland.

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"We have won this service now we have to use it," he said.

Husted said the new daily flights are expected to have an $85 million impact on the Northeast Ohio economy in just the first three years.

John Hogan, deputy chief of Hopkins Airport, said this is just part of a continuing effort to expand the number of flights in and out of Cleveland.

"The long, long way to Tipperary certainly got shorter today," he said.

Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Aer Lingus starts direct flight from Cleveland to Dublin in May 2023