Aer Lingus to announce new US routes on Friday

BRUSSELS, Mar 22 (Reuters) Irish airline Aer Lingus will announce three new routes to the United States on Friday following an EU-U.S. ''open skies'' agreement, Ireland's transport minister said.

''Following the deal, we will announce tomorrow three new routes to San Francisco, Washington (Dulles) and Orlando,'' Martin Cullen told reporters in Brussels.

The service to Dulles will begin in September, while the other two services will start in October. The minister also said current restrictions on flights in and out of Ireland, known as the ''Shannon Stop'', will be phased out.

REUTERS DKS HT1909