NI plane travellers head south

Belfast International Airport is losing out to Dublin

At least 1,000,000 people from Northern Ireland opt to fly out of airports in the Irish Republic each year because of cheaper flights and a wider choice of destinations.

More and more people from the province are travelling south for flights out of Dublin International Airport rather than using the two airports closer to home, near Belfast.

The news came as the first daily low-cost air service linking Belfast with Amsterdam was launched at Belfast International Airport on Friday.

Natalie Raper: Hoping taxes will be abolished

Natalie Raper from Belfast International Airport said it was currently losing about 1,000,000 passengers every year as a result of people travelling across the border.

She said an air passenger duty tax made prices of tickets from the province more expensive.

"We are doing our best to encourage low cost carriers like Easyjet that are going to offer more range of destinations and prices to a growing market," she said.

"We will be working with the government to try to lobby to remove the air passenger duty, as happened with the Highlands and Islands in Scotland.

"They had the passenger duty removed because they were seen to be very dependant on air travel.

"We believe that Northern Ireland is extremely dependant on air travel and think the duty should be removed here as well."

A 90-minute evening flight between Belfast and Amsterdam is now being operated by Easyjet, with prices starting at £27.50 for a one-way ticket.

Gerry Lennon of the Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau said he hoped it would will help attract more tourists to the province.

"To put it very simply, tourism is all about having a good product, having good access and then a positive image," he said.

"Now we have an excellent product, we're improving our access all the time as this initiative shows.

Doreen McKenzie: Good news for families

"No matter how good your package is or how good your destination, if people can't get here, they won't come."

Meanwhile, Doreen McKenzie from the Association of British Travel Agents said families flying from the south could save up to 25% on the cost of their flights.

"Some of the prices are cheaper because of the taxes," she said.

"And sometimes it is perceived that it's easier to commute in your car down out of Dublin and going to London or Manchester and having to overnight.

"The airports are doing a good job of getting choice for the customer during the summer months, but we don't have enough population to sustain a good variety of choice in the winter and that's the problem."