Aer Lingus debuts direct route from Pittsburgh to Dublin

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]Pittsburgh has a new non-stop flight option tonight. Heirlingus officially launched its direct route from the steel city to Dublin, Ireland. Thanks for joining us at 11. I'm Josh Taylor. The new flight is creating excitement for travelers and local leaders. KDKA's Jennifer Baraso was there as the inaugural flight took off and explains how the boost could provide it for the economy.

[00:00:24]>> Josh, I learned that it has taken years to get to this point. Now, we were here when the first non-stop flight from Pittsburgh to Dublin took off shortly after 8:00 p.m. tonight. Now, the flight was sold out. 184 people on board.

[00:00:42]>> Until you have your passport out on the picture page.

[00:00:45]>> These are the first passengers boarding the first non-stop flight from Pittsburgh to Dublin, Ireland. For many, this couldn't come soon enough. So, we used to go to um JFK or Boston from here on JetBlue and we'd have a 5 to 8 hour layover and thank goodness that's gone because that was a nightmare. So, this this flight is is great. I used to have to drive to Cleveland to get a direct flight to Dublin. I've been doing this now for the past five years cuz my daughter lives in Dublin.

[00:01:17]I've done collecting flights before.

[00:01:19]They never connect timely. And I mean, one time I think I went through Toronto.

[00:01:24]It was horrific.

[00:01:26]>> Air Lingus' inaugural flight comes after the opening of the new terminal upgrade last fall. The flights run four days a week, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays every month except January and February. The flight also offers an easier path to multiple cities across Europe.

[00:01:47]It was all things Irish before a news conference with local leaders. a member of the Irish consulate and the Steelers vice president of business development and strategy Dan Rooney. Last September, the Alageney Conference led a delegation to Ireland to sell the region, coinciding with the Steelers game in Dublin. The non-stop service is being supported by a 5.25 million economic incentive grant from the Commonwealth.

[00:02:12]The Alageney County Airport Authority projects the transatlantic route to generate 23 million annually and support 156 regional jobs.

[00:02:22]>> And it makes a whole lot of sense. There are there's a lot of family heritage that ties back to Ireland. But there's also a lot of business back and forth.

[00:02:29]And what we're over there to do is talk about business, talk about tourism, and to really make sure that Heirlingus is as supported as we have felt so far by them. When the Airbus A321 taxied to the gate, out came American and Irish flags and then the terrible towels. This guy said he changed his tickets when he saw the non-stop flight.

[00:02:53]>> We actually were going to fly yesterday and found out about this and we changed our plan. So, >> how excited are we?

[00:02:59]>> Very excited. We got We still have family over there that we haven't met and some that we have, but we're just anxious to go see it. And some lucky people got a terrible towel Irish style.

[00:03:10]Now, an airport spokesperson told me there are several groups, local groups on tonight's flight, and they are meeting with Irish leaders and potential business partners. Now, I did check in with Heirlingus. They told me that a roundtrip flight to Dublin costs around $500. Reporting inside Pittsburgh International Airport, Jennifer Baraso, KDK TV News.