Regional carrier Flybe will cease flights between Belfast City and Liverpool from November 6, and will also cut its Belfast-Doncaster Sheffield route from the end of October.
The airline has begun contacting affected passengers, and its website homepage currently carries the following message: “Last day of operation for Belfast-Liverpool route is Sunday 6th November”.
Several customers have posted disgruntled messages on Flybe’s facebook page, including this left on October 6:
“I have just seen on the BBC website that Flybe is cancelling all flights between Belfast and Liverpool after October, but i am booked to travelon the 10th Nov and have not heard from Flybe about this. Surely it would be nice to hear from the airline you booked with instead of the media.”
Which prompted the following reply from Flybe:
“I'm sorry that you didn't hear about this directly from ourselves. Our call centre team has been busy individually contacting all affected passengers since Monday so please be patient - a member of the team will be in touch shortly to discuss your booking.”
The move leaves no carriers serving the Belfast City-Liverpool route, although Easyjet does fly to Liverpool from Belfast International.
Flybe is also cancelling its route between Belfast City and Doncaster Sheffield airport from the end of October.
Fellow low-cost carrier Ryanair previously flew five routes from Belfast City including flights to Liverpool, but pulled out last year citing delays to the airport’s runway expansion plans.
A Flybe spokesperson said: "All passengers who have bookings on a Flybe route which is cancelled for commercial reasons are entitled to a full refund or can choose to be re-accommodated on another suitable flight where available at no extra charge.
"Flybe can confirm that its Call Centre team has started personally calling every passenger affected in strict departure date order. Selected flights on the 4th, 5th and 6th November will continue to run for the Liverpool football match."