Emerald Airlines set for takeoff with €16m cash in hand

The start-up airline founded by Conor McCarthy was last month confirmed as the operator of Aer Lingus’s regional routes from 2023 onwards on a ten-year contract

Conor McCarthy, Emerald Airlines chief executive: ‘We’ve achieved rates on aircraft that would be half the rate that was applied pre-Covid’. Picture: Fergal Phillips

Emerald Airlines has secured a €6 million loan facility with the Irish Strategic Investment Fund (Isif) as it ramps up preparations for its maiden flight.

The airline, founded by industry veteran and former Aer Lingus executive Conor McCarthy, was last month confirmed as the operator of Aer Lingus’s regional routes from 2023 onwards on a ten-year contract.

The company is seeking to accelerate its plans to take those routes on earlier than the agreed start ...