Reborn Flybe has been relaunched with its first flight between from Birmingham to Belfast City airport.
Additional routes are due to start over the summer following the introduction of up to four flights a day between the two cities.
Glasgow will be connected to the carrier’s Birmingham base from tomorrow (Thursday) with more routes added progressively from April 28 through to August 25 as the fleet is expanded to 32 turboprop aircraft.
The regional carrier is returning to the skies under new ownership after collapsing as the pandemic hit in March 2020.
Chief executive Dave Pflieger said: “Today is a big day for everyone at Flybe.
“After a year of incredibly hard work, we are thrilled to have our fast, quiet and fuel/CO2 efficient Dash 8-400 (Q400) aircraft back in the sky connecting customers to two of the UK’s premier regional cities.
“Over the coming weeks and months our flight schedule will further ramp up as we take delivery of additional aircraft and serve other new destinations from Birmingham including Amsterdam, Avignon, Brest, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.”
Birmingham airport chief executive Nick Barton added: “I am thrilled to see Flybe back again. With Covid travel restrictions lifted and many thousands of Britons taking to the skies once more, I am confident we’ll see strong demand for Flybe’s core UK, Dutch and French routes.”