INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The distance between Indiana and Europe will get a little bit smaller next spring, when Aer Lingus introduces nonstop service between Indianapolis and Dublin, Ireland.

The new one-way Aer Lingus flight from Indianapolis International Airport will begin on May 3, 2025, with service out of Indy four times a week.

It will be the airport’s first direct flight to a European city since Delta discontinued service between Indianapolis and Paris in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Flights between the two cities started in 2018.

Brian Cahalane, Ireland’s Consul General to the Midwest, praised the new ties between his country and the Circle City, especially with “immigrants from Ireland playing such an important role in the city’s history.”

Cahalane added that Ireland and Indiana “share more than an ancestral bond…but (also) strong cultural links and booming and mutually-beneficial economic relationships.”

Aer Lingus service from Indy to Dublin will link Hoosiers with flights to other major European cities including London, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, and Rome. Anyone returning to Indianapolis from Dublin will go through customs at Dublin’s airport, meaning they will be able to process out of the airport in Indianapolis like they would with a domestic flight.

Economic development officials said Indiana and Ireland have deep economic ties. Fifty-two Ireland-based companies do business in Indiana and nearly a dozen Indiana-based companies have significant operations in Ireland, notably Lilly. Each year, about $20 billion dollars’ worth of Irish exports–one-fourth of the Emerald Isle’s total exports to the United States–flow through Indianapolis. Speaking to News 8 from Dublin, Gov. Eric Holcomb said the new nonstop route will boost both Indiana’s economy and cultural ties.

“This is a business and leisure twofer. It’s a win-win,” he said. “For folks that are going to Europe, not just Dublin, but folks who are going to Europe to explore and have a vacation, this is a direct, cost-effective way to see Ireland and then the greater whole of Europe.”

Cahalane said the new route represents a great opportunity for Irish people to get to know this part of the Midwest and especially Indiana, particularly given the Indianapolis 500 and the rest of Indiana’s sports portfolio.

“You’ve had generations of Irish people coming to Indiana since the 1800s,” he said. “It’s great to have that people-to-people connection, but also for Eli Lilly and other businesses’ connections in both Ireland and Indiana, it’s great to have the ease and flexibility a direct flight offers.”

At least one frequent traveler said he’s already interested in the flights. Avon resident Dave Lindgren caught most of Monday’s announcement from his seat in the airport’s Civic Plaza. Lindgren said he travels for work at least once or twice every month and having a nonstop flight is a big help.

“It saves time, which is important. Layovers, they can be frustrating, you can miss flights,” he said.

Lindgren said he has been to other European cities but he has never been to Ireland. Asked if he’d be interested in one of the Aer Lingus nonstops, he replied, “For pleasure, absolutely. I’d love to go to Dublin someday.”

Currently, Indianapolis International Airport offers flights to two international destinations: Toronto, Canada, and Cancun, Mexico.

To book a nonstop flight on Aer Lingus from the Indy airport to Dublin, click here.

Below is the full interview with Gov. Eric Holcomb.