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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Civil Service to fly Aer Lingus | Civil Service to fly Aer Lingus |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Aer Lingus has won a government contract to fly civil servants between Belfast and London for the next two years. | Aer Lingus has won a government contract to fly civil servants between Belfast and London for the next two years. |
| The deal is estimated to be worth around £500,000 per year. | The deal is estimated to be worth around £500,000 per year. |
| The company's Director of Corporate Affairs, Enda Corneille, said they had secured the lucrative deal through a long tendering process. | The company's Director of Corporate Affairs, Enda Corneille, said they had secured the lucrative deal through a long tendering process. |
| He added that it is a significant coup for the carrier which opened its UK hub at Belfast International 18 months ago. | |
| In recent months there has been criticism of the amount of money which the Northern Ireland Civil Service spends on travel. | |
| The Department of Finance Personnel has confirmed that, in a period of just nine months last year, civil servants took over 2,584 bmi flights to Heathrow, at an average price of £199 per seat, resulting in a bill of £514,503. | |
| Commenting on claims that a ban has been introduced on business class travel within the Northern Ireland Civil Service, a spokesman for the Department of Finance said it has been long standing policy for staff to take the most economical method of travel available. | |
| Less than a tenth of civil servants who travelled to London in the same period chose to take a cheaper route via Belfast International airport. | |
| Aer Lingus is now considering adding a fourth daily flight to Heathrow. | Aer Lingus is now considering adding a fourth daily flight to Heathrow. |