Dublin to Derry flights ‘could resume by 2026' in boost to north-west region
An Irish Government minister has indicated that flights between Londonderry and Dublin could be reinstated by the end of 2026.
Flights between City of Derry Airport (CoDA) and Dublin were cancelled in 2011.
The airport is currently the least busy of NI's three major airports. Recent air travel numbers from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) reveal the airport's summer quarter 2023 saw it welcome 48,000 travellers.
The number is less than half the airport's strongest recorded quarter, when it saw close to 130,000 travellers in July-September 2011.
Since that high point, the airport has faced the loss of routes like Ryanair's former Derry to Dublin flight, and the disruption of the global pandemic.
Irish Minister of State and Donegal TD Charlie McConalogue told BBC News NI that talks to reinstate the Derry to Dublin route are ongoing.
"The Irish government are committed to stepping this forward, have put a timeline in place as to how we can make this happen, and I have been liaising with the minister for transport and City of Derry management," he told BBC Radio Foyle's Mark Patterson Show.
McConalogue said it been a commitment in the Irish government's programme for government and that it would move forward.
He added that next month the transport Minister Darragh O'Brien will meet the airport management.
McConalogue said the loss has "been a real disadvantage to Derry, Donegal, and the north-west region".
In April it was announced that direct flights between Londonderry and Heathrow will continue to be subsidised for two more years.
It followed an announced by Stormont Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald of £4.626 million of funding from her department and Westminster's Department for Transport.
It will ensure the continuation of flights between CoDA and Heathrow until March 31 2027.
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