The highly anticipated Aer Lingus services from Manchester to the United States have been delayed. With no sign of an easing to the travel restrictions between the US and the UK, the airline has taken the decision to push back the start date for flights to New York and Orlando until December. Nevertheless, the Manchester base will soon be up and running, with flights to Barbados going ahead as planned in October.

No US flights until December

All the pieces for the Aer Lingus Manchester base launch have been falling into place. The airline received the blessing of the UK’s CAA to commence its flights to the United States earlier this month and stated that it was on course for launch in September. This launch date was already somewhat later than originally planned, as travel restrictions forced the airline to abandon its July launch.

But now it seems passengers will have to wait a little longer to experience Aer Lingus’ flights to the USA from the northern English airport. The airline has revealed today that it will now not begin flying to the States until December 2021.

Specifically, Aer Lingus has said that flights to New York will now not commence until December 1st. Orlando will follow on December 11th. The reason for the delay is noted to be “due to continuing restrictions on travel into the USA.”

It was hoped that, by now, there would be some signs of an easing of travel restrictions between the countries. Indeed, the formation of a US-UK task force set up in June at the G7 summit gave hope that the opening would be figured out soon. But rising cases of the delta variant in the USA has set the talks back, with most major airlines now not expecting an opening of the borders until at least Thanksgiving (November 25th).

Aer Lingus Manchester
Border restrictions have scuppered the September launch plans. Photo: Aer Lingus

In a statement, Aer Lingus said,

“Both New York and Orlando services were due to start on 30th September. Aer Lingus is sorry for any inconvenience caused and our dedicated teams are contacting customers directly to offer either a full refund, re-accommodation on an alternative service or the option of a voucher with an additional 10%, for use across the Aer Lingus network over the next five years.”

Manchester launch in October

Despite the push back on the US services, Aer Lingus’ new Manchester base will soon be open. The airline still plans to begin flying to Barbados from the airport from October, stating that,

“Aer Lingus remains fully committed to its services from Manchester Airport and its new non-stop Manchester to Barbados service, with three flights a week, will commence as planned on 20th October.”

Aer Lingus Manchester
Barbados will see the A330 deployed, complete with the 'throne seat' business class. Photo: Aer Lingus

Flights to Barbados are bookable now, with fares beginning at £199. Outbound flights depart on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 11:00, arriving in Bridgetown at 16:35. The returns are on the same days, leaving Barbados at 19:40 and arriving back in Manchester at 08:10 the following day.

Aer Lingus is maintaining its flexible booking policies until the end of December. This includes allowing passengers to make changes to their flights up to two hours before departure with no fees added.