Luxair announced its plans to stop the Dublin route (along with flights to Prague) in its annual report last Friday. By Monday afternoon the Facebook campaign--Save the Luxair Lux-Dub route--was launched and by Thursday lunchtime had 376 “likes”.

Luxair has said that the Dublin route is not profitable, and cutting it and Prague from its timetable (as of the end of October) is part of a cost-saving programme that includes the sale of two Embraer ERJ 135 aircraft. But the Facebook group argues that by reducing its prices Luxair could attract many more passengers to its scheduled flights. “In addition to a strong business link, there are nearly 2,000 Irish citizens in the Grand Duchy who all travel back to Ireland on a regular basis or have friends and family visit the Grand Duchy from Ireland and visa-versa,” says one of the group’s founders, Hilary Fitzgibbon. She adds that “hundreds of people every week put up with the hassle of travelling to Hahn, Charleroi and Zaventem to avail of reasonably priced flights to Dublin.”

Indeed, many of the comments on the Facebook group’s page seem to indicate a strong preference for Luxair’s service and the easy access of Findel, while Ryanair is lambasted. 

“In order to be taken seriously by Luxair we need to increase the numbers of supporters,” Fitzgibbon says. Supporters of the cause can add their comment or “like” the group by visiting the Facebook page here.