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Belfast has two airports to choose from when flying in or out of the country. The Belfast City Airport or George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD) and Belfast International Airport (BFS).
BHD is closest to Belfast City Centre while BFS is farther. BFS is the busiest airport in Northern Ireland and offers both domestic and international flights. BHD, on the other hand, handles flights within the United Kingdom and also allows public transport flights and flying instruction.
We summarize these airports with information to help travellers make a choice when travelling to or from Belfast in Northern Ireland.
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George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD) |
Belfast International Airport (BFS) |
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| Airport Maps | George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD) Map | Belfast International Airport (BFS) Map | |
Getting To The Airports From The City Centre |
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| Distance from City Centre | 3 miles (5 kilometres) | 13.2 miles (21.3 kilometres) | |
| Public Transport Operating Hours | Public transport operates 24 hours daily. | 24 hours daily, 7 days a week. | |
| Train |
The Northern Ireland Rail (NIR trains) serve BHD 2 times in an hour at the Sydenham station taking the Portadown/Belfast/Bangor line. Free shuttle rides are available to take travellers to the train station. |
The Antrim railway station is the nearest railway station to BFS. It is 10 km (6.2 mi) from the airport and served bythe 109A Ulsterbus service which takes travellers to and from the Antrim bus/railway station where connections to Derry and Belfastcan be made by train. Train departure times can be found on timetables at the station, and the digital departure boards at the train station. |
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| Metro |
The Metro bus 3A is available and runs every 10 minutes from Sydenham to Belfast City Hall. Airport 600 service runs every 30 minutes. Tickets can be bought at the tourist information desk or from the bus driver. Fares: Adults pay £2.50 for a Single trip and £3.80 for a return ticket (Belfast, Europa Buscentre). Children are charged £1.25 (single) and £1.90 (return). You can use the Smartlink MJ Card for 10 journeys at £16 (adults) and £8 (children). |
Metro 96 is available and it operates hourly all day between the terminal and the city centre. Airport Express 300 operates weekdays and weekends. Its bus stop is located just opposite the airports terminal exit. Buses run every 15 minutes. Belfast, Europa Buscentre Fares: Adults - £8.00 (single) and £11.00 (Return). Children - £4.00 (single) and £5.50 (return). Travellers can also save money with the Smartlink MJ Card which can be used for 10 journeys at £50 (adults) and £25 (children) for single trips. |
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| Bus Services | The Airporter service operates 12 coach services on weekdays, 5 coaches on Saturdays and 8 coaches on Sundays to Derryto and from the airport. | The Ulsterbus 109 A offers hourly services at £2.60 for one way trip to the Antrim Bus Station from the airport. It is located on the left just outside the arrivals terminal. | |
| Taxi |
Taxis are available and cost £10 approximately to most places in the city. They are cheaper and economical for small groups of persons. The taxis include a surcharge of £2 from the airport, and some drivers only make it clear on arrival at your destination. |
Belfast airport taxis are available 24 hours daily with different vehicles to choose from. Fare: All the taxis are fitted with taxi meters to calculate fares per trip. But travellers can request for an estimated price on their site. But it costs approximately £25-30 to Belfast City Centre. |
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| Uber in Belfast |
Uber X is available only on demand; with an estimated fare to Belfast City Centre from £8-11. |
Available from £25-34. |
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Which Airport Is Most Suitable For Me? |
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| How Close to Belfast City Centre |
BHD Airport is located 5 km away from the Belfast, making it the closest to the city centre and its top attractions. It takes about 14-20 minutes to reach the city centre depending on the traffic conditions. It is closer to the main attractions in the city. The airport is well connected by cheap, fast and comfy public transport services which run 24/7. |
BFS Airport is located almost 22 km away from Belfast and takes 32 minutes to get to the city centre. It is also connected by road, route buses, cabs, taxis, coaches and more depending on the travellers choice of transportation. Like BHD, buses also run a 24-hour service. |
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| Cost Factor |
BHD serves over 2.6 million passengers and it handles most flights within the UK. Car rentals at BHD Airport are similar to that of BFS in terms of price although there are cheaper car models,hotels rates at BHD is higher than at BFS due to its closeness to Belfast's city centre. In terms of flight fares, BHD is cheaper but travellers must also consider hotel rates to really enjoy their trip. |
BFS serves over 5.8 million passengers, it handles both domestic and international flights. It is the main international airport in Belfast and farther from the city centre. Flight fares at the airport are higher than that of BHD. Transfer time to the airport is longer due to its location away from the city centre, car rental rates are almost the same as that of BHD, but hotel prices range from affordable to luxurious from the airport to the city centre. In terms of hotel deals, BFS is cheaper, travellers can use this airport if they get a good flight deal and extra time to spare. |
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| Airport Delays | In all, the delay frequency for BHD airport is low. So,flight and security/immigration delays don't exceed 15 minutes. | The over all delay index for BFS is average. So, the arrival and departure delays including security/immigration delays don't exceed 15 - 20 minutes. | |
Flight Fare From November 2018 (Searched On 19-09-2018). |
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| Flight Fares | From £79.15 to Birmingham, £149.54 to Rome, £160.48 to Barcelona, £284.93 to Stockholm and £212.93 to Paris. | From £335 to New York City, £143 to Paris,£345 to Orlando, £386 to Los Angeles, £394to Las Vegas,£528to Bangkok, £409 to Toronto, £92 to Amsterdam and £21 to London. | |
Hotel Prices Per Day From (01-10-2018 to 02-10-2018) Searched on 19-09-2018 |
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| Hotel |
Park Avenue Hotel(4-star)at £140 per night Titanic Hotel Belfast(4.5-star) |
Maldron Hotel Belfast International Airport(3-star)at £85 per night Ballyrobin Country Lodge(3-star)at £72 per night |
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Car Hire Prices From 01-10-2018 to 07-10-2018 (searched on 19-09-2018. |
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| Car Hire |
Belfast City Airport has car hire companies with competitive deals and discounts on any hire. Some of its cars include: Budget Cars (Peugeot 107, VW Up, Kia Picanto, Toyota Aygo, Ford Ka, Citroen C1, Chevrolet Spark and Fiat 500): = £79.40 - £213.20. Intermediate Cars (Skoda Octavia, Renault Scenic, Citroen C4, Toyota Avensis, Opel Insignia, Ford C Max, VW Passat, Ford Mondeo, and Peugeot 3008): = £150.95 - £646.02. Luxury Cars (BMW 5 Series, Mercedes Benz E Class): = £382.79 - £893.06. |
Belfast International Airport Their desks are available in the arrival hall of the airport. Budget Cars (Peugeot 107, VW Up, Kia Picanto, Toyota Aygo, Ford Ka, Citroen C1, Chevrolet Spark and Fiat 500): = £79.40 - £213.20. Intermediate Cars (Skoda Octavia, Renault Scenic, Citroen C4, Toyota Avensis, Opel Insignia, Ford C Max, VW Passat, Ford Mondeo, and Peugeot 3008): = £150.95 - £646.02. Luxury Cars (BMW 5 Series, Mercedes Benz E Class): = £382.79 - £893.06. |
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| Car Hire Companies |
Sixt, Europcar, Hertz, Enterprise, Avis and Budget. |
Sixt, Europcar, Hertz, Enterprise, Avis and Budget. |
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| Online car hire |  |
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Airport Facilities |
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| Shopping and Dining | Duty-free WHSmith newsstand, House of Ireland gift shop, Bushmills, Costa, Harvest Market, O'Brien's, Starbucks, World Duty-Free, Boots Pharmacy, | Aelia Centre of Duty-Free, JD Sports, Maplin: Electronics Specialist, Visit Belfast, Superdrug, WHSmith, The Lagan Bar, Burger King, Caffe Ritazza, Sip and Stone, Fed and Watered, and Starbucks. | |
| Lounges | Aspire Lounge, and British Airways Lounge. | Causeway Executive Lounge. | |
| Wi-Fi | Unlimited Free Wi-Fi for up to 4 hours. Travellers would have to restart new sessions by connecting to the Wi-Fi again. | Unlimited Free Wi-Fi | |
How To Transfer Between Airport Terminals? |
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| Transfer in and Around The Airport | BHD has only one terminal with no shuttle services. Travellers can move around easily on foot. | BFS has one terminal, so travellers can easily move around the airport on foot. There are no shuttle services available. | |
| Currency Exchange & ATM cash Points | Travelex is located beside the PRM desks at the airport. Also, two ATMs are located in the main concourse of the airport beside Costa Coffee and one in the departures lounge. | The International Currency Exchange (ICE) has Foreign currency exchange points, ATMs and 2 Bureau de Change located at the Landside Departures & International Baggage Hall in the airport. | |
| Important phone numbers | +45 3231 2800 | +32 31 62 20 | |
| Major Operating Airlines | Flybe, Aer Lingus, British Airways, KLM, JetsGo Holidays and Loganair. | N/A | |
| Major Connecting Destinations | Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cardiff, Doncaster/Sheffield, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Inverness, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool, London City, Manchester, Newquay, Southampton, Faro, Malaga, London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Salzburg, Palma de Majorca Carlisle Lake District and more. | Alicante, Amsterdam, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Faro, Glasgow, Kraków, Isle of Man, Liverpool, London-Gatwick, London-Luton, London-Stansted, Málaga, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Prague (resumes 29 October 2018),Venice, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife-South, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Girona, Heraklion, Ibiza, Malta, Menorca, Naples, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Reus, Rhodes, Salzburg, Verona, Zakynthos, Bergamo, Berlin-Schönefeld, Gdańsk, Warsaw-Modlin, Wrocław, Vilnius and more. | |
Tourist Information Centre |
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| Tourist Info Centres | There is a tourist information centre situated in front of the arrivals exit doors in the main concourses | BFS has a tourist information desklocated in the arrivals sections for both the domestic and international wing for travellers. | |
| Official website | www.belfastcityairport.com | www.belfastairport.com | |
There are 2 airports that serve Belfast; George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD) and Belfast International Airport (BFS). George Best Belfast City Airport is the closest at just 3 miles away and when using the Translink line 1 train service, you can get into central Belfast in 5 minutes. Belfast International Airport is the primary hub in Belfast, the busiest airport in Northern Ireland and second busiest on the island of Ireland after Dublin Airport. It is located located 13.2 miles from central Belfast, taxis are the fastest public transport options from the airport to the city centre which takes around 21 minutes.
Distance to Central Belfast:
George Best Belfast City Airport: 3 miles / 5 km
Belfast International Airport: 13.2 miles / 21.3 km
By Train (Airport Shuttle + Translink): 5 minutes
By Bus: 15 minutes
By Taxi: 10 minutes
By Train(Airport Shuttle + Antrim train): 1h 41 minutes
By Bus: 1h 11 minutes
By Taxi: 21 minutes
George Best Belfast City Airport is the best airport to fly into Belfast when travelling for business or vacation.It is also very good for those travelling alone or with family and friends. This is so because, it is very close to the city center where passengers can see Titanic Belfast where the RMS Titanic was built, Samson and Goliath (two giant shipbuilding cranes at Queen's Island, Belfast) in just 5 minutes. The airport has good public transport services such as buseswhich transfer passengers to the NIR Translink train station adjacent the southern perimeter of the airport. It is a convenient way for travellers with a lot of luggage and/or travelling with kids. George Best Belfast City airport is smaller than BHD less queues and less crowds. The airport is served by a limited number of airlines and destinations such as Aer Lingus, British Airways, Flybe, and KLM.
BFS (Belfast International Airport) is the primary airport serving Belfast, it is the the second busiest airport on the island of Ireland after Dublin Airport and the busiest in Northern Ireland. The airport is served by major airlines with domestic and international flights around Europe and seasonal long-haul flights to the United States. The airlines include EasyJet, Jet2, Ryanair, Wizz Air, Virgin Atlantic, Thomas Cook, TUI, and Norwegian. BFS is further away from the city centre, this makes the journey to central Belfast slightly longer, but it is served by good transport services like bus, train, and taxi to the city centre, Titanic Belfast, Samson and Goliath, Belfast Castle, Belfast City Hall and many more. As the main airport serving Belfast, it has a single terminal building, but is easy to navigate on foot. Travellers should expect slight delays and queues at the airport.
Yes!George Best Belfast City Airport is a better airport than Belfast International Airport because of its close proximity to the city centre and its top attractions.This means travellers can get to their various destinations within the city centre in less time compared to BFS. Belfast City Airport is also a secondary hub with less airlines and fewer destinations, which means less people and small queues at immigration, less flight arrival delays compared toBFS. George Best Belfast City Airport is always a better option over BFS for people because of the ease of transfer and closeness to central Belfast.
As a traveller who has a 2 hour layover in Belfast, you might be wondering if you have time to visit the Titanic Belfast and more... George Best Belfast City Airport is very closeto the top attraction, located just 6 km from the airport by rail. The Northern Ireland Rail (Translink train)is the fastest means of transportation to between George Best Belfast City Airport and Titanic Belfastwhich takes just 5 minutes during off peak hours and 10 minutes during peak hours. The train departs every 4 hours and costs £6. The Translink UK 600b line also runs every 3 hours to Titanic Belfast from the airport with a journey time of 13 minutes. It costs around £2 - £4 per person. Alternatively, you can take a taxi, private transfer or Uber which takes about 7 minutes when the traffic condition is good.
From George Best Belfast City Airport by:
Train:NIR Translink line 1 (+ airport shuttle) £6 -
http://www.translink.co.uk/Services/NI-Railways/
Trains run every 4 hours between 05:20 - 00.00 daily.
Bus (Line 600): £3.80 return
http://www.translink.co.uk/Services/Other-Translink-Services/Airport-Services/Airport-Express-600/
Buses run every 30 between 05:50 - 23:30
Taxi: £10-£12 http://www.valuecabs.co.uk/ Available 24/7.
Uber: £5-£8https://www.uber.com/en/gb/Available on demand.
But Private taxes are cheaper than Airport taxis, here to Book at
From Belfast International Airport by:
Train: Translink UK line 2 (+ Translink UK 109a bus) £12 http://www.translink.co.uk/ Buses run hourly while trains run twice daily.
Bus (Translink Bus Line 109 + line 219) and Airport Express 300: £11 return -http://www.translink.co.uk/Buses run every hour during 05:28 - 18:30
Taxi: £35-£45 - http://www.valuecabs.co.uk/ Available 24/7.
Uber:£19-£27 - https://www.uber.com/en/gb/ Available on demand.
But Private taxes are cheaper than Airport taxis, here to Book at
Hotel prices can vary greatly depending on how far in advance you book, the demand for rooms, and which hotel you book but the prices below will give you a rough idea and you can do further research and hotel booking at https://www.tripindicator.com/hotel.html
George Best Belfast City Airport Hotels: From £140 per night
Belfast International Airport Hotels: From £72 per night
If you have a lot of luggage and don't want the expense of a taxi, you might prefer to rent a car to get to central Belfast or elsewhere in Belfast, particularly if you're flying into the far away Belfast International airport. Both airports mentioned offer competitive prices and a range of cars to suit your needs. Prices are based on the type of car, driver age, length of hire, and demand but you can get a rough idea for each airport below.
George Best Belfast City Airport Car Rental:
Budget Cars (Ford KA, Fiat Panda etc) Prices start at £79.40 per week
Intermediate Cars (Toyota Avensis, Ford C Max, etc) Prices start at £150.95per week
Luxury Cars (BMW 5 Series, Mercedes Benz E Class etc):£382.79 per week
Compare prices here -
https://www.tripindicator.com/hotel.html
Belfast International Airport Car Rental:
Budget Cars (Ford KA, Fiat Panda etc) Prices start at £79.40 per week
Intermediate Cars (Toyota Avensis, Ford C Max, etc) Prices start at £150.95per week
Luxury Cars (BMW 5 Series, Mercedes Benz E Class etc):£382.79 per week
Compare Prices here -
https://www.tripindicator.com/hotel.html
There are only two operating airports in Belfast, Belfast City Airport (BHD) and Belfast International Airport (BFS). BHD serves mostly intra-UK flights while BFS handles both domestic and international flights. BFS is the main airport in Belfast.
BFS has many modes of transportation such as public transport like trains, metro buses, shuttle buses, cabs, taxis/car, and Uber services. Buses are available to transport travellers to the nearest train stations around the airport for a trip to the city centre.
It costs as low as £8 to £26 from BFS to the city centre.
There are many online taxi services in Belfast some of which includes Uber, Sixt, Europcar, Hertz, Enterprise, Avis and Budget.
There are so many different top attractions in Belfast some of which include Titanic Belfast, the Botanic Gardens, Belfast City Hall, Waterfront Hall, Ulster Museum, St. Anne's Cathedral, Grand Opera House, Crumlin Road Gaol, Belfast Castle, Belfast Zoo, Stormont (Parliament Buildings) and many more.
Hotels around the airports especially BFS are cheaper because of its distance from the city centre, while hotels towards the city cost more. You can get a night from £72 to £150 per night depending on your choice. If you want luxury, then opt for hotels within the city centre.
There are a lot of shopping and dining places in Belfast.
Shopping:Victoria Square Shopping Centre, Castlecourt Shopping Centre, St George's Market, Queen's Quarter, Bloomfield Avenue-East Belfast, Lisburn Road-South Belfast, Abbeycentre Shopping Centre, and Ballymena-County Antrim, and many more.
Dining: If you want to dine and enjoy Belfast, then visit the following places Molly's Yard, Hadskis, Made in Belfast, Mourne Seafood Bar, Coco, The Barking Dog, Deanes at Queens, House of Zen, Permit Room, James Street South and many more.
For George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD) Terminal Maps visit https://www.tripindicator.com/bhd-george-best-belfast-city-airport-terminal-map.html
For Belfast International Airport (BFS) Terminal Maps visit https://www.tripindicator.com/bfs-belfast-airport-terminal-map.html
