Aer Lingus has announced its ‘largest-ever’ transatlantic summer schedule for 2026, as well as further expansion of its long-haul network with the introduction of a new service through Dublin to Raleigh-Durham International Airport, North Carolina, in the US next year.

The airline said that those in the UK choosing to connect at Dublin can take advantage of US pre-clearance.

(Image: Supplied)

Connections can be made from 13 airports in the UK, including Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Newcastle, Southampton, Liverpool John Lennon, Isle of Man, Exeter, Cornwall Airport Newquay, and Heathrow.

The brand-new route to North Carolina will start in April 2026. The service will connect the cities of Raleigh and Durham directly to Ireland for the first time and serve the wider State of North Carolina.

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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, which will be further strengthened with our new direct service.”

 “In addition to 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 frequent service 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.”