Aer Lingus is the national airline of the Republic of Ireland. From its core hub at Dublin Airport it runs a transatlantic passenger belly network linking continental Europe with the east coast and interior cities of North America. Its cargo business sits within IAG Cargo, giving Chinese shippers belly capacity through Dublin to North America and the European interior.
Aer Lingus was founded in April 1936 and is headquartered in Dublin, with Dublin Airport (DUB) as its main hub and Shannon (SNN) as a secondary hub. The airline is part of International Airlines Group (IAG) alongside British Airways, Iberia and Vueling. Its IATA code is EI and its ICAO code is EIN.
Aer Lingus has long served as the national carrier of the Republic of Ireland, with a network centered on Dublin and radiating to continental Europe, the United Kingdom and both coasts of North America. Cargo moves mainly in passenger belly holds and is sold and operated through IAG Cargo under the Aer Lingus Cargo brand, with capacity shared across the IAG Cargo global network.
For Chinese shippers the value of Aer Lingus is not a nonstop to China but the Dublin transatlantic transit point: cargo from China connects through IAG Cargo at London Heathrow, Madrid or another European hub to Dublin, then flies from Dublin to dozens of North American points, forming a three-leg belly channel from China through a European gateway to North America.
Dublin Airport sits on Ireland's east coast, on the great-circle track between the North American east coast and continental Europe, one of the shorter transatlantic gateways in Europe. With the Airbus A321LR and A321XLR in service, Aer Lingus can open year-round nonstops from Dublin to secondary and interior US cities without operating widebodies, so Chinese shippers can reach core cities in the US Midwest industrial belt without adding a connection.
From a forwarder's point of view, Aer Lingus belly capacity is fully integrated with other IAG Cargo carriers on capacity, rates and documentation. A Chinese shipper can use one air waybill and one set of customs documents for the whole chain from the Chinese airport through the European gateway to the North American destination, reducing the handover points and liability splits that come with stitching carriers together.
Country: Republic of Ireland
Headquarters: Dublin
Main hub: Dublin Airport DUB
Secondary hub: Shannon SNN
IATA code: EI
ICAO code: EIN
Founded: 1936
Group: International Airlines Group (IAG)
Cargo brand: Aer Lingus Cargo
Website: aerlingus.com
China is Ireland's largest trading partner in Asia-Pacific and its fifth largest worldwide. Published figures show bilateral trade in goods and services held substantial volume in 2024. Irish exports to China are led by pharmaceuticals, medical devices, computer and information services, dairy and agri-food, while Chinese exports to Ireland are led by organic chemicals, computers and telecom equipment, machinery and electrical products, and consumer electronics components.
Ireland is the second largest pharmaceutical exporter in the EU, with biopharma and medical device manufacturing concentrated in the urban belt around Dublin, and exports of dairy ingredients such as whey protein and casein to China keep growing. These high-value, time-sensitive goods form the core flow through the Dublin belly network. Aer Lingus transatlantic belly capacity works in both directions: pharmaceuticals and dairy produced in Ireland are consolidated in the European interior and distributed from Dublin to North America, while machinery, telecom equipment and business express from China to Ireland and Europe flow back through IAG Cargo European hubs into Dublin and on to North American customers.
Chinese exports to Ireland are concentrated in organic chemicals, computers and telecom equipment, consumer electronics components and machinery. These goods are distributed through Dublin belly capacity to North America and the European interior, forming a two-way flow with Irish exports to China. Chinese companies operating in Ireland are growing in number, and temporary air freight demand for two-way business express, aircraft parts and maintenance items and exhibition goods adds a steady secondary flow through the Dublin hub.
Aer Lingus itself has no passenger or cargo service to China, but IAG Cargo has sales and handling stations at Beijing Daxing and Shanghai Pudong. Cargo from China can transit IAG Cargo core hubs at London Heathrow and Madrid Barajas to Dublin, then move in the belly of a Dublin transatlantic flight to the US east coast and interior cities.
Dublin and Shannon have US preclearance facilities, so passengers and qualifying cargo complete US immigration and customs formalities before leaving Ireland and can be handled as domestic arrivals in North America. That gives cargo transiting Dublin a shorter final connection on the North American side.
The Aer Lingus long-haul fleet is built around Airbus widebodies and new-generation long-range narrowbodies, with the short-haul European network flown by the A320 family. Belly capacity follows passenger frequencies, with space allocated by aircraft type and route season.
| Aircraft type | Scale | Main routes | Cargo notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A330-300 | Widebody twin-aisle | Dublin to New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other North American trunk routes | Larger belly tonnage, suited to general cargo, e-commerce parcels and mid-size palletized cargo across the Atlantic |
| Airbus A321LR | New-generation long-range narrowbody | Dublin to second-tier US East Coast cities and some European points | Narrowbody belly, suited to small and mid-size urgent shipments and part-charter pallets |
| Airbus A321XLR | New-generation ultra-long-range narrowbody | Dublin to new interior points such as Nashville, Indianapolis, Cleveland and Pittsburgh | Opens secondary North American points with lower capacity, well suited to serving customers in the North American interior industrial belt |
| Airbus A320 family | Short-haul narrowbody | Dublin to continental Europe and UK points | Short-haul belly, suited to intra-European and Irish distribution links |
Aer Lingus Cargo does not publish belly tonnage by aircraft type. Available belly capacity varies with flight number, load factor and season and is confirmed in the IAG Cargo system on the day of booking. Long-haul widebodies offer relatively generous belly space on transatlantic routes, while the long-range narrowbodies are valued for frequency and secondary-point coverage.
The diagram shows the network structure, not precise geography. Orange dashed lines are transatlantic belly sectors from Dublin to the US east coast, interior and west coast; green solid lines are Dublin radials to continental Europe and the UK; gold dashed lines are the transit path for Chinese cargo through an IAG Cargo European hub to Dublin.
Aer Lingus itself has no published passenger or cargo service to China and no China to Dublin sector operated under an EI flight number. Chinese shippers using Aer Lingus belly capacity book through IAG Cargo sales and handling stations in China.
Published information shows IAG Cargo has a sales and handling office at the Shanghai Pudong airport cargo terminal (PVG) and import and export handling at the BCS international cargo terminal at Beijing Daxing (PKX), covering acceptance and pickup at the main East and North China airports.
Cargo from China to Dublin transits IAG Cargo hubs at London Heathrow (LHR), Madrid Barajas (MAD) or another European hub before connecting to a Dublin departure. Aer Lingus transatlantic departures run several times a day. Times are local.
Actual schedules change by season and are confirmed by the carrier on the day of booking. Acceptance cut-off in China, connection time and final arrival in North America are calculated per shipment at booking against the specific flight combination. The IAG Cargo stations at Beijing Daxing and Shanghai Pudong cover the main North and East China manufacturing belts; shippers in South China can have cargo trucked to those stations by our ground agents in Guangzhou and Shenzhen rather than arranging cross-province haulage themselves.
Through Dublin transatlantic belly capacity, cargo reaches New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington and Hartford on the US east coast; Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Nashville, Minneapolis and St. Louis in the interior; and Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles on the west coast, with connections to some Canadian and Caribbean points.
Through Dublin and IAG Cargo European hubs the network covers London and Manchester in the UK, Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, and the main cargo airports of France, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy, reaching the Western and Central European industrial belts.
On the IAG Cargo global network, cargo from China can extend beyond Dublin or the European hub to South America, Africa, the Middle East and other regions IAG Cargo serves. Extension capacity and rates are quoted separately by interline combination.
In recent years Aer Lingus has opened nonstop belly sectors from Dublin to secondary and interior US cities with the A321LR and A321XLR, giving Chinese shippers a direct route to interior points when serving manufacturing, biopharma and agri-food customers in the US Midwest, and avoiding a second connection at an east coast hub.
Dublin and Shannon have US preclearance facilities, so cargo transiting there completes US entry preparation on the European side and spends less time at the arrival airport in North America. Suited to time-sensitive high-value cargo.
Aer Lingus Cargo shares sales, capacity and handling with British Airways Cargo and Iberia Cargo under IAG Cargo, so booking in China, transit in Europe and collection in North America sit within one carrier system, reducing the blurred responsibility that comes with stitching carriers together.
China-Ireland trade centers on pharmaceuticals, medical devices, dairy, software and information services. Aer Lingus belly capacity connects with the IAG Cargo temperature-controlled product range, which suits high-value urgent cargo from China to Ireland that is then distributed to Europe and North America.
The Dublin departure network combines A330 widebodies with A321LR and A321XLR long-range narrowbodies: widebodies carry bulk belly tonnage on trunk routes, long-range narrowbodies provide high frequency to secondary cities. Shippers can combine trunk widebody and point-to-point narrowbody options according to volume and destination, avoiding the tight capacity or wasted space that come with a single type.
Dublin hosts the European headquarters of many multinational software firms and a large cluster of biopharma plants. Server spares, test units, clinical samples and business express sent from China to these European nodes demand tight transit times and compliant documents, and the Aer Lingus belly channel matches those requirements in handling discipline and temperature control.
Choosing a Dublin transit gives Chinese shippers coverage of both a European gateway and secondary North American points: one consignment can be distributed to continental Europe and the US east coast from Dublin, without buying two separate trunk air waybills. That single-waybill structure offers clear handling efficiency for exporters serving European and North American customers at the same time.
IAG Cargo runs Constant Climate facilities at its London Heathrow hub, with dedicated chambers at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, 15 to 25 degrees Celsius and minus 20 degrees Celsius plus refrigerated ULD containers, meeting pharmaceutical logistics requirements. Temperature-controlled cargo from China such as pharmaceutical intermediates, diagnostic reagents and biological samples can connect to the Dublin sector through the IAG Cargo system.
IAG Cargo regularly carries high-value goods, valuables, aircraft parts, auto parts, live animals and relief supplies, and operates the automated Ascentis cargo terminal at London Heathrow. Oversize, overweight and special cargo requires advance declaration of aircraft type and hold limits.
Dangerous goods such as lithium battery cargo, magnetic cargo and dry ice shipments must be packed, labeled and declared under the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations, with complete documents at booking. Aer Lingus belly holds have specific acceptance limits for dangerous goods; we can assess the cargo classification and prepare documents before booking.
Chinese shippers do not normally book with Aer Lingus directly. Aer Lingus Cargo capacity sits within IAG Cargo global sales, and bookings in China go through IAG Cargo authorized channels or a contracted freight forwarder. As a China-based forwarder, Goodhope Logistics (China) Limited can request rates from IAG Cargo, book capacity, arrange pickup and handover in China, complete export declaration documents and help track the shipment after arrival in Dublin or at the North American airport.
The booking process: the shipper provides origin, destination, commodity, pieces, weight and dimensions, and transit requirement; we compare available IAG Cargo capacity and connection options and quote a rate with expected connection time; once booked we arrange warehousing, export declaration and mainline handover in China; in transit the shipment is tracked through the IAG Cargo waybill system.
Aer Lingus has no published office of its own in China; contact its local Chinese agent or ask us to make the introduction. We can handle acceptance at major airports such as Shanghai Pudong and Beijing Daxing and coordinate with IAG Cargo China stations on export manifests and warehouse handover.
· Origin and destination airports
· Commodity name in Chinese and English, and HS code
· Pieces, gross weight, volume and dimensions per piece
· Whether the goods contain lithium batteries, magnets, liquids or powders, or need temperature control
· Required shipping date and transit time
· Full shipper and consignee details and customs declaration data
Aer Lingus operates no passenger or cargo service from China to Dublin under an EI flight number, and there is no published record of a scheduled China to Dublin cargo charter. Cargo from China transits an IAG Cargo European hub and then connects to belly capacity on a Dublin departure for North America or Europe.
Aer Lingus Cargo capacity sits within IAG Cargo sales, and Chinese shippers book through IAG Cargo authorized channels or a contracted forwarder. Goodhope Logistics (China) Limited can request rates, book capacity, arrange warehouse handover and track the shipment, so the shipper does not have to deal with overseas stations directly.
Transit time depends on the handover time in China, the waiting time at the European hub and the Dublin departure schedule. The transatlantic sector takes about six to ten hours in the air; total transit is calculated per shipment from the origin airport and North American destination and confirmed by the carrier on the day of booking.
Yes. IAG Cargo runs Constant Climate facilities at its London Heathrow hub covering 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, 15 to 25 degrees Celsius and minus 20 degrees Celsius, suited to pharmaceuticals, diagnostic reagents, biological samples and some temperature-controlled dairy ingredients. Temperature requirements and packaging must be provided before booking.
Lithium battery cargo must be classified, packed, labeled and declared under the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations, with MSDS and a transport test report at booking. Aer Lingus belly holds have specific limits by lithium battery category and some categories need dedicated freighter capacity; we can assess the classification before booking.
Dublin and Shannon have US preclearance facilities, so passengers and qualifying cargo complete US entry and customs preparation before leaving Europe and connect quickly as domestic arrivals in North America, cutting time at the arrival airport. Suited to time-sensitive high-value cargo.
Aer Lingus has no published office of its own in China; contact its local Chinese agent or ask us to make the introduction. IAG Cargo has sales and handling stations at Shanghai Pudong and Beijing Daxing that handle acceptance and pickup in China.