CLEVELAND — With nonstop flights from Hopkins International Airport to Ireland set to begin next year, Cleveland City Council has passed legislation authorizing economic development assistance to Irish air carrier Aer Lingus.
The legislation, approved during Monday night's council meeting, will provide up to $600,000 in economic development funds to Aer Lingus to start and maintain direct flights from Hopkins Airport to Ireland for a period of three years.
The $600,000 in funds will come from an Urban Development Action Grant and would be given to Team NEO. Jobs Ohio will assist with additional funding, with the city of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Greater Cleveland Partnership, Team NEO, and Destination Cleveland combining for an additional $2.4 million towards the new service.
The official announcement about the new Cleveland-to-Dublin service on Aer Lingus came last week. New flights are scheduled to begin on May 19 with each Aer Lingus plane featuring the following:
- 16 seats in the business class cabin with luxury dining and beds
- 168 seats in the economy cabin with complimentary meals and drinks
- All passengers will have access to WiFi and in-flight entertainment
"The primary goal of this project is to re-establish daily nonstop air service from Cleveland to Europe and make Cuyahoga County a more attractive location for private businesses to locate in Cuyahoga County by maintaining daily nonstop air service to Europe," according to the legislation.
The last nonstop service from Cleveland to Europe was through WOW Air from Hopkins to Iceland, which ended in 2018. WOW Air ceased its operations the following year.
As part of the introduction of the service, Aer Lingus will be offering reduced fares starting at $459 for flights from May 19 to June 15. However, passengers must book their seats before Oct. 19, 2022 to take advantage of the deal.
3News' Ryan Haidet contributed to this story.
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