Aer Lingus winter schedule

Further details of the Aer Lingus winter schedule have been announced, completing the picture from last week.

Dublin will lose two aircraft to a base strength of 22 frames. Two new routes - Dublin to Fuerteventura and Dublin to Monastir will commence October 25.

Effective October 25, an A320 will be based at Shannon to allow the Heathrow route increase capacity to three flights per day, subject to slot availability.

At Cork, Manchester, Birmingham, Lanzarote and Tenerife will see frequencies increase.

At Belfast, base strength will drop from 3 to 2 aircraft with 6 routes being suspended for the winter. One new route - Belfast to Tenerife will commence during the winter.

One additional aircraft will be based at Gatwick for the winter to allow a total of 118 round trips per week to be operated.

To cope with the excess cabin and flight crew the airline has already commenced offering unpaid leave. Any surplus crew remaining after the uptake will be dealt with 'in the context of the broader cost reduction plan which will be rolled out shortly', according to the airline.