Aer Lingus opens new route from UK to Raleigh-Durham

Aer Lingus (EI/EIN) has announced a new route to Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina UK passengers can fly from 13 regionals via Dublin and arrive in Raleigh-Durham having pre-cleared immigration.

Launching in April 2026, the new route opens up North Carolina to UK and Irish passengers and further extends Aer Lingus’ transatlantic network.

UK passengers will able to take advantage of US Immigration pre-clearance in Dublin from Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Newcastle, Southampton, Liverpool John Lennon, Isle of Man, Exeter, Cornwall Airport Newquay, and London Heathrow.

Michael Landguth, President and CEO of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority, said: “Dublin is a high-demand international destination for travellers from the Research Triangle region, and we are proud that Aer Lingus has chosen RDU for this nonstop service. The Aer Lingus flight will provide a quick and convenient journey to Ireland and beyond for tourism, business and educational opportunities.”

Lynne Embleton, CEO of Aer Lingus, added: “We’re delighted to be adding Raleigh-Durham International Airport to our growing North American network. It’s a vibrant and thriving region with well-established links to Ireland, that will be further strengthened with our new direct service.”

“In addition to new this new route, our 2026 plans reflect another year of growth with increased frequency on our established network, and more choice for our customers. We’ll be serving 26 destinations across North America in 2026, reinforcing Aer Lingus as a popular choice for North Atlantic travel. We’re planning more frequency to popular new destinations Nashville and Indianapolis which launched earlier this year, as well as strengthening our schedule to cities already well established on our network, such as New York, Boston and Orlando.”

It is also hoped that the new route will boost inbound tourism to UK and Ireland from North Carolina as well as boosting business links.