Dublin Airport Gets 4 New Routes To The US Next Summer

The latest slot coordination report at Dublin Airport (DUB) has confirmed that despite the passenger cap still limiting the airport’s capacity, the Irish airport will gain four new routes to the United States: Detroit, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, and Nashville.

New US routes

According to the initial slot coordination report by Airport Coordination Limited (ACL), a United Kingdom-based slot coordinator with 75 airports in its portfolio, Dublin Airport (DUB) will see four new routes to the US during the upcoming summer season:

All four routes were previously confirmed by carriers that would operate them during the upcoming summer season, which will run from March 30, 2025, to October 25, 2025.

Aer Lingus, the Dublin Airport-based carrier, will launch or has already launched three of the new itineraries across the Atlantic Ocean.

New Aer Lingus flights to the US

On May 21, the Irish airline announced that it would offer seasonal flights from Dublin to Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), running flights between the two cities between October 25 and April 29, 2025.

As a result, during the upcoming summer season, there will be only 30 movements from Dublin to Las Vegas, offering 8,430 seats.

The inaugural flight EI51 departed on October 25 with an Airbus A330-300, registered as EI-EIM, operating the ten-hour journey connecting the Irish capital with Sin City.

Data from the aviation analytics firm Cirium showed that Aer Lingus has not scheduled any flights on the route in October 2025, meaning that it was still up in the air whether the Irish airline would return to the Dublin to Las Vegas itinerary during the upcoming winter season.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the initial slot allocation (SAL) deadline for the upcoming winter season is June 5, 2025.

Nevertheless, in October, Aer Lingus announced new flights to Nashville International Airport (BNA) and Indianapolis International Airport (IND), with the announcements coming on October 4 and October 21, respectively.

Both will be operated by the Airbus A321XLR, which the Irish airline was initially supposed to be the launch customer of the type. The airline’s parent company, the International Airlines Group (IAG), diverted the first A321XLR delivery to Iberia following the Irish carrier’s dispute with its pilots over pay.

Cirium data showed that Aer Lingus has scheduled flights on its itineraries to Indianapolis and Nashville beyond October 26, 2025, possibly indicating that flights to the two US cities will continue during the next winter season.

Passenger cap impacting Dublin’s capacity

Delta Air Lines will operate the fourth route, taking passengers directly to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW). The airline announced the itinerary on September 20, beginning flights on the route in May 2025.

However, the ACL report indicated that year-on-year (YoY), the airport’s capacity in terms of total passenger flight movements and seats will be reduced by 5.8% and 4.3%, respectively.

Airlines, including Aer Lingus, Ryanair, and Airlines for America (A4A), an association uniting several US-based carriers, secured a win against the cap when the Irish High Court suspended the measure to reduce historic slots at the airport in order to comply with the annual 32 million passenger cap at the airport’s two terminals.

The initial coordination report showed that passenger air transport movements and passenger seats would grow by 9.2% and 10.5% versus the historic slot-related capacity, respectively.

Furthermore, carriers, including Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, and United Airlines, have received new slots at the airport, with ACL allocating a total of 14,318 new slots or 99.7% of the requested landing and takeoff rights.