Two new winter holiday destinations to be launched from Belfast International Airport

Crystal Ski Holidays will be launching the brand new winter flight programme for the 2024-2025 season to Salzburg and Turin.

The Belfast to Salzburg flight will operate each Saturday from December 21, 2024 to March 22, 2025. It will serve well-known Austrian resorts including Bad Gastein, Bad Hofgastein, Ellmau, Fieberbrunn, Hinterglemm, Kaprun, Kitzbuhel, Nassfeld, Obertauern, Rauris, Saalbach, Schladming, Soll, St Johann in Tirol, Wagrain and Zell am See.

The large towns of Kitzbuhel and Zell am See are known for their winter sports and are well connected by train for non-skiers who want to explore the cities of Vienna and Salzburg.

For experienced skiers, Zell am See and Saalbach are both part of the Skicircus skiing area complete with over 200 km of runs while Soll and St Johann offer great value hotels.

The Belfast to Turin flight will operate on Sundays from December 22, 2024 to March 23, 2025 and will serve the Italian resorts of Bardonecchia, Cervinia, Courmayeur, Gressoney, La Thuile, Pila, Sauze D'oulx, Sestriere and Sansicaro. Both Sauze D’Oulx and Sestriere are a part of the Milky Way ski area which offers up to 400km of skiing.

Cervinia is a favourite with more experienced skiers and offers a day skiing in Zermatt (Switzerland on the area lift pass). The lively resort is a more affordable option for those who want to ski in Switzerland. Courmayeur is popular with couples and those looking to stay in a pretty authentic town, while families are fond of La Thuile.

All Crystal Ski Holiday packages include return flights, with free luggage allowance, transfers to and from your chosen resort and accommodation for the duration of the stay.

Travellers can also choose to include: a local or area lift pass; ski or snowboard hire, or carriage, if you've got your own ski equipment; boot and helmet hire and ski or snowboard lessons.

Graham Keddie, managing director, Belfast International Airport, said: “We are delighted to be able to launch this brand-new Crystal ski programme direct from Belfast International Airport. Skiing is always a popular holiday, and we are delighted to be able to expand our ski destinations with Crystal Ski Holidays giving local holidaymakers more options to hit the slopes”.

Chris Logan, managing director at Crystal Ski Holidays, said: “We’re delighted to be launching this brand-new winter programme for the 2024/2025 season with direct flights from Belfast

International Airport, giving our customers more choice and flexibility when it comes to their ski holiday. Crystal Ski Holidays has over 40 years’ experience taking skiers and snowboarders to the mountains and will offer everything Northern Ireland customers need to ski in one convenient great-value package."

Craig Morgan Head of Ireland for Crystal Ski Holidays, said: “Today’s announcement is an exciting development for our customers across Northern Ireland who can now enjoy a range of ski packages across Austria and Italy with Crystal Ski Holidays direct from Belfast International Airport. With weekend departures designed to help skiers maximise their time on the slopes we know this announcement will be welcome news and we expect to see strong demand across the programme."