Willie Walsh, Chief Executive of IAG, parent company of British Airways, was in town earlier this week to relaunch the service between Northern Ireland and London Heathrow after an 11-year gap... and at the same time to pledge's BA's commitment to the route in future.

The IAG chief said British Airways was delighted that the route was again part of the airline’s network and he was committed to maintaining the link."I am thrilled to have British Airways back at Belfast City Airport. We have made a long-term commitment to this route and we want to see it succeed. I publicly committed to serving Belfast if we acquired additional runway slots at Heathrow and the acquisition of bmi has given us the perfect opportunity to make that happen.

“We recognise the importance of the Heathrow link to Northern Ireland," he continued. "Belfast is now part of our global network so this is good news for the economy. It will provide much needed access to key global markets, supporting more inward investment and jobs.”

The airline also announced that it would be adding an additional flight each day, increasing the daily flights between Belfast City Airport and London Heathrow from six to seven, when it introduces its winter schedule on October 28.