Emerald Airlines

When a small propeller aircraft in Aer Lingus colors touches down in Dublin, Emerald Airlines is almost always behind it. The Irish regional airline flies under someone else’s brand: the fuselage says Aer Lingus, Emerald crews sit in the cockpit, and on the tracker a completely different code shows up than on the departures board. This page shows you how the setup works, which aircraft are behind it and how to assign the ATR 72-600 cleanly.

Emerald Airlines at a glance

Emerald Airlines is an Irish regional airline headquartered in Hangar 5 at Dublin Airport. The company was founded in May 2020, in the middle of the pandemic – with a clear goal: to take over the regional traffic of Aer Lingus. In November 2020, Aer Lingus selected Emerald as its preferred operator.

The actual start then took a while. The contract was only signed in August 2021, and in September 2021 Emerald received the Irish air operator certificate (AOC). The first scheduled flight took place on February 26, 2022 – on the route from Donegal to Dublin, a state-subsidized connection to the northwest of Ireland.

At the top is Executive Chairman Conor McCarthy, a well-known name in Irish aviation, and the CEO is Keith Butler. Besides the Aer Lingus contract, Emerald says it also offers ACMI services – that is, aircraft with crew, maintenance and insurance for other airlines – as well as charter flights.

Aer Lingus Regional: one brand, changing operators

To understand Emerald, you need to know Aer Lingus Regional. It is not a separate airline but a brand of Aer Lingus that has existed since 2010. Aer Lingus sells the tickets and sets the colors; flight operations are taken over by another company. You may know this model from the US, where regional airlines fly under the brands of big network carriers. How flight numbers and the operating airline can diverge is explained in the article on codeshare flights.

Period	Operator	Spotter note
2010–2014	Aer Arann	First ATRs in Aer Lingus Regional colors
2014–2021	Stobart Air (renamed Aer Arann)	Contract ended abruptly in June 2021
since 2022	Emerald Airlines	All-ATR 72-600 fleet, bases in Dublin and Belfast City

The switch to Emerald was bumpy. In June 2021, Stobart Air terminated the contract and went into liquidation – around a dozen routes disappeared overnight. Aer Lingus and BA CityFlyer stepped in partly, and other routes were temporarily taken over by other airlines. Emerald was set as the successor, but did not yet have an operating license and no aircraft in service. Only in early 2022 was regional traffic back in the air under the Aer Lingus Regional brand.

Since 2015, Aer Lingus has belonged to the International Airlines Group, which also includes British Airways. Emerald itself is not part of IAG but an independent company and is not part of any alliance.

Codes and callsign

• IATA code EA: Emerald’s own code. You rarely see it in scheduled service, because the flights are sold under Aer Lingus numbers.
• ICAO code EAI: appears in the flight plan filed with air traffic control and therefore frequently on flight trackers.
• Callsign: listed for a long time as GEMSTONE – fitting the name, since an emerald is a gemstone. For 2026, reference works record a change; if in doubt, listen to a radio recording to hear how the crews currently check in.
• Flight number EI: the Aer Lingus code, under which you book the flights and find them on the departures board.

For your logbook this means: record Aer Lingus Regional as the brand, but Emerald Airlines (or Emerald Airlines UK) as the operating company. That keeps your sightings unambiguous even when the contract eventually goes to another operator again – as has already happened twice in the brand’s history.

Two companies: Emerald Airlines and Emerald Airlines UK

A large part of the network leads to Great Britain, especially from Belfast City. For these flights, Emerald founded a British subsidiary: Emerald Airlines UK, based in Northern Ireland. In summer 2025 it operated seven of the around 20 ATRs. For spotters, this is the most interesting difference in an otherwise uniform fleet.

Company	Headquarters	Typical registration	Typical use
Emerald Airlines	Ireland	EI-	Routes from Dublin, Cork and Donegal
Emerald Airlines UK	Northern Ireland (United Kingdom)	G-	mainly routes with a British connection, such as from Belfast City

The livery is the same on both. You can therefore only recognize the British aircraft by the registration: a G- on the fuselage instead of an EI-. What is behind British registrations is explained in the article on British G- registrations, and you will find the basics under Understanding aircraft registrations.

The fleet: only the ATR 72-600

Emerald relies on a single aircraft type: the ATR 72-600 from the French-Italian manufacturer ATR. The first aircraft came on lease in 2021 – six from Chorus Aviation, some of them previously in service with Stobart Air and Virgin Australia Regional, plus four from Nordic Aviation Capital. After that the fleet grew step by step; more aircraft were added in 2025 as well.

Type	Number (as of 2025)	Seats	Operator	Spotter note
ATR 72-600	around 20	70	Emerald Airlines and Emerald Airlines UK	All in Aer Lingus Regional colors, registration EI- or G-

The ATR 72-600 is a high-wing aircraft with two turboprop engines, built for short routes with many takeoffs and landings. According to ATR, in standard seating it holds 72 to 78 passengers and, with a full cabin, flies around 1,370 kilometers; Emerald flies with a somewhat more generous cabin and 70 seats. For the Irish-British network, that is ideal: most routes take well under two hours.

Important for context: fleet numbers change with lease returns and new arrivals. The figure of around 20 aircraft applies to 2025 and, according to reference works, to mid-2026 as well. Before a targeted registration hunt, it is still worth a look at current fleet lists.

ATR 72-600 or something else?

At British and Irish airports you meet many turboprops. The risk of mix-ups is real, especially with the smaller ATR 42, with the Dash 8 Q400 and with ATRs of other regional airlines such as Loganair or Aurigny.

At Emerald, it is simple, because there is only one type. It gets trickier when you see several regional airlines at an airport. The guide Telling turboprops apart offers detailed instructions.

How to recognize Emerald Airlines

You do not read the name Emerald on the aircraft. The ATRs wear the Aer Lingus livery: white fuselage, tail in teal with the shamrock and the airline’s titles, supplemented by the addition “Regional.” This addition is your quickest identifying feature, because the rest of the Aer Lingus fleet consists exclusively of Airbus jets.

On the ground, the ATRs stand out by their size. At many airports, regional aircraft also park on remote stands. For photos at the gate, you therefore sometimes need a bit of luck; on approach, the aircraft are comparatively slow and easy to catch.

The route network: Ireland, Great Britain and a touch of France

The Aer Lingus Regional network connects Ireland with Great Britain and a few destinations beyond. The two bases are Dublin and Belfast City. In addition there are departures from Cork and the subsidized connection to Donegal.

Typical destinations include:

• Ireland: Dublin, Cork, Donegal
• Great Britain: Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, Cardiff, Exeter, Newquay and East Midlands
• Other destinations: Isle of Man, seasonally Jersey and destinations in Brittany

The network changes with every schedule period. New routes are added, others are dropped, and some destinations are only served in summer. The list above is therefore a guide, not a current schedule.

One peculiarity: Emerald does not only fly for Aer Lingus. Reference works also list flights from London Gatwick that Emerald operated for British Airways. Such deployments are typical of the ACMI business and can give you unexpected sightings.

Since its start, the airline has stabilized economically. After losses in the first two years, which were mainly due to start-up costs, Emerald reported an operating profit for 2024. In addition, according to its own statements, the airline was named the most punctual airline on traffic to and from Great Britain for 2024.

Spotting Emerald Airlines

You have the best chances at the two bases. In Dublin, the ATR fleet takes off and lands several times a day between the Airbus jets of Aer Lingus and the Boeing 737s of Ryanair. A classic spot is The Mound at Dublin Airport; the Dublin guide gives an overview of other places.

In Great Britain, Manchester is worthwhile, for example. From the Runway Visitor Park you see the small turboprops from Ireland alongside long-haul jets. At smaller regional airports, an Aer Lingus Regional ATR is often one of the few scheduled flights of the day – there it is worth waiting specifically for the time slot.

Turboprops visibly react to wind. Especially at the often windy Irish and British airports, you see exciting approaches with a crab angle; more on this in the article on crosswind landings. And if you want to get to know the regional scene in Europe as a whole, the overview of regional airlines in Europe will help.

Common mix-ups

• Taking Aer Lingus Regional for a separate airline – it is a brand; since 2022, Emerald Airlines has operated the flights.
• Taking the ATR for an Aer Lingus aircraft – Aer Lingus itself flies only Airbus, and the ATRs belong to Emerald.
• Misattributing old photos – ATRs in Aer Lingus Regional colors before 2021 belong to Aer Arann or Stobart Air.
• Taking a G- registration for a mistake – Emerald Airlines UK flies with British registration.
• Equating the EI flight number with the operating airline – the ICAO code EAI on the tracker shows that Emerald is flying.
• Confusing Emerald Airlines with Emerald Airways – that was a former British airline unrelated to today’s company.

Conclusion

Emerald Airlines is the invisible company behind Aer Lingus Regional. Since 2022, the young Irish airline has been flying an all-ATR 72-600 fleet between Ireland, Great Britain and a few destinations beyond. If you note down the registration and tracker code, you separate brand and operator cleanly, recognize the British subsidiary by its G- registration and keep the brand’s history with Aer Arann and Stobart Air straight.