Buses to and from Belfast Aldergrove International Airport (BFS)

Belfast International Airport is located approximately 23km, or 13.2 miles west of Belfast city, and is the largest airport in terms of passenger traffic in Northern Ireland. It is also the second busiest airport in the whole of Ireland, falling just short of the passengers which travel through Dublin Airport. Belfast International has the official code of BFS, and is quite commonly known as the Aldergrove Airport, which was it’s former name. Belfast International Airport buses are available for arriving and departing passengers, and are an excellent way to travel to or from the airport. The airport buses can be quite cost efficient, and are considered clean and comfortable.

The airport’s arrival area is on the ground floor of the terminal building, while all departure facilities are found on the upper level. The building is capable of handling millions of passengers every year, and has all the facilities required by its passengers. This airport of Belfast is served by several airline companies, including Aer Lingus, for which the airport is a hub, Easyjet, Air Australia, Thomas Cook Airlines, Thomson Airways and Jet2.com. A wide variety of local and international destinations are available. Arriving passengers have a choice of three bus links from Belfast International Airport, and they travel to Belfast city, Lisburn, Antrim and Londonderry/Derry. Although taxis by a very reputable company are available, many passengers prefer to travel by bus, as the service to and from the airport is reliable, convenient and is often the cheapest from of transport. The Belfast International Airport buses are the Airport Express 300, Service 109A and the service to Londonderry by the Airporter.

The Belfast International Airport Express 300

The Airport Express 300 bus service is operated by Translink, which is the newly integrated transport company of Northern Ireland, consisting of Citybus, NI Railways and Ulsterbus. The integration began in early 1995, and was a way of promoting the transfer from private vehicle to public transportation. The Airport Express 300 is the bus to take if you need to reach the city of Belfast. It travels from Belfast International Airport, stopping at Templepatrick, Royal Avenue and finally, the Belfast Europa Buscentre. Arriving passengers will find the airport bus stop outside of the terminal building, just across from the main exit. The Airport Express 300 leaves approximately every 15 minutes during peak weekday hours. The bus is operational twenty-four hours a day, but at less frequent intervals during off-peak/later hours and over weekends. There could also be special timetables set for public holidays, and the service of the bus could vary according to flight cancellations or to diversions and alterations in the schedules of the airline companies.

The approximate journey time to the Belfast Europa Buscentre is thirty to forty minutes, depending on traffic conditions. The bus leaves from Templepatrick approximately seven minutes after the airport departure time. Bus tickets can be purchased from the tourist information desk in the arrival hall of the airport terminal building, or from the bus driver. The information desk is open from 07:30 to 19:00, Monday to Saturday, and from 08:00 to 17:00 on Sundays. Passengers can also buy Airport Express 300 tickets on board their Easyjet flight, which is perhaps a very convenient option. The passengers will be sold a paper ticket, issued by the Easyjet electronic point of sale machine, and the ticket will be held inside a Ticket Wallet. The ticket and wallet is redeemable for an Ulsterbus paper return ticket for travel on the Airport Express 300 services. A return ticket valid for one month is 10.00 Pounds, while a single ticket to Belfast will cost 7.00 Pounds. To Templepatrick, a return ticket is 8.30 Pounds, and a single ticket is 4.60 Pounds. Young children (under the age of 3) who do not require their own seat may travel for free, and older children up to the age of 16 may be able to acquire discounted rates. Additionally, all the Airport Express 300 buses are low-floored vehicles, which makes them more accessible to passengers with reduced mobility challenges. All further information can be found at http://www.translink.co.uk.

The Belfast International Ulsterbus 109A

The Ulsterbus 109A service takes airport passengers to the Lisburn railway station and to the Antrim Buscentre, which is located right next to the Antrim train station. The buses are available from Monday to Saturday, between the hours of 06:00 and 18:00. Further details are available at http://www.translink.co.uk/Ulsterbus, or passengers can call the following contact numbers: +44 (0) 28 90 66 66 30 (Monday to Friday, 07:00 – 20:00, and Sundays from 08:00 to 18:00), or the textphone number of +44 (0) 28 90 38 75 05.

The Belfast International Airporter Bus

The Airporter is a privately owned transport company that offers coach services between Belfast International Airport and Londonderry/Derry. They provide clean and well maintained vehicles, and have an excellent reputation for delivering their passengers safely at their next destination. The buses are modern, and the entire fleet offers free WiFi connections on board. Passengers are recommended to make an advanced reservation for this bus service. The Airporter can be contacted at +44 (0) 28 71 269996 (from Northern Ireland) and at +44 (0) 48 71 269996 from the Republic of Ireland. They also have an email address at info@airporter.co.uk, and a website at http://www.airporter.co.uk.

The Belfast International Airport buses provide passengers with connections to many of the bus and rail services of Ireland, and are a very convenient and inexpensive way to travel to and from the airport. The airport information desk is able to provide further details regarding the bus services as well.