Lufthansa Returns to Cork Airport with Frankfurt Route from June
Lufthansa is returning to Cork Airport from 1 June with twice-weekly Frankfurt flights, replacing its grounded regional subsidiary with a larger mainline aircraft.
Cork Airport has confirmed that Lufthansa will resume its Frankfurt service from 1 June 2026, following the collapse of its regional subsidiary Lufthansa Cityline last month. The mainline carrier will operate the route twice weekly, on Mondays and Fridays, using a larger Airbus A319 aircraft with 138 seats, up from the 90-seat regional jets previously used.
The Frankfurt connection, first introduced in 2021, was among the routes affected when Lufthansa Cityline ceased operations and grounded 27 aircraft. Cork Airport moved quickly to secure a replacement arrangement, and the deal with the mainline carrier represents an upgrade in capacity on one of the airport's most commercially significant routes.
Flights will depart Cork at 17:05, arriving into Frankfurt at 20:05, allowing onward connections across Lufthansa's global network to destinations in Asia, the Middle East, South America, and many other European cities. The inbound service departs Frankfurt at 15:25, landing in Cork at 16:30. Both directions operate from June through to October.
Germany is Ireland's third-largest inbound tourism market, with 433,000 German visitors arriving in 2025. Research by Tourism Ireland identifies the South-West, covering Cork and Kerry, as the most popular region for German holidaymakers after Dublin. The Frankfurt Rhine-Main area, which the service connects directly to Cork, is home to over 5.8 million people.
Tara Finn, Head of Aviation Business Development and Communications at Cork Airport, said:
"We were hugely disappointed with the closure of Lufthansa Cityline and the grounding of 27 aircraft affecting many European cities, including Cork. On that basis, it is a testament to the strength of the South of Ireland market that Lufthansa (mainline) have elected to recommence the service using a different, larger aircraft type. We are delighted to be back connecting to Frankfurt from June onwards."
Seamus Heaney, Head of Visit Cork, added:
"This is wonderful news and great credit to the teamwork between Cork Airport, Lufthansa, Visit Cork and Tourism Ireland in restoring this vital connectivity from Frankfurt, which is so important to local tourism."
Cork Airport, part of the daa Group and voted Best Regional Airport in Europe by ACI Europe in June 2025, welcomed 3.46 million passengers last year, its busiest year on record.
Stock Image courtesy of Deposit Photos
