Aer Lingus will launch nonstop flights from Dublin to Raleigh-Durham International Airport next summer, expanding its footprint in the U.S. southeast.
The year-round service will operate up to five times per week from April 13 using Airbus A321XLR aircraft. The addition makes RDU Aer Lingus’ 26th North American destination and the fifth transatlantic route at the North Carolina airport, joining Air France to Paris Charles de Gaulle, Lufthansa to Frankfurt, American Airlines to London Heathrow and Icelandair to Reykjavik Keflavik.
Dublin already ranks as RDU’s fifth-largest European O&D market, with 31,300 two-way passengers in 2024, according to Sabre Market Intelligence data. That figure rose more than 11% year over year, reflecting demand that Aer Lingus now intends to capture nonstop.
Overall, O&D traffic between Raleigh-Durham and Europe totaled 701,000 two-way passengers in 2024, up 17% from 2023. London was the most popular destination, followed by Paris, Reykjavik and Rome.
“Dublin is a high-demand international destination for travelers from the Research Triangle region, and we are proud that Aer Lingus has chosen RDU for this nonstop service,” says Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority CEO and President Michael Landguth. “The Aer Lingus flight will provide a quick and convenient journey to Ireland and beyond for tourism, business and educational opportunities.”
Aer Lingus CEO Lynne Embleton adds that the route underlines the carrier’s focus on long-haul growth from Dublin. “It’s a vibrant and thriving region with well-established links to Ireland that will be further strengthened with our new direct service,” she says.
The RDU launch extends Aer Lingus’ strategy of deploying its new A321XLRs on secondary U.S. markets. The carrier received its first two XLRs in December 2024 and has since used the aircraft to open routes to Nashville and Indianapolis.
Overall, Aer Lingus plans to operate its largest-ever transatlantic schedule during summer 2026. The carrier will add third daily flights from Dublin to both New York John F. Kennedy and Boston, boost Nashville and Indianapolis from four to 5X-weekly and make Dublin–Orlando daily in peak summer. Shannon–Boston will also rise to 10X-weekly flights.
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