Stormont is set to assume the costs of running City of Derry Airport in a move expected to save Derry City and Strabane District Council around £3 million per year.
Economy Minister Conor Murphy announced the plan during a speech in the Assembly on Tuesday, where he presented his department’s new economic strategy aimed at tackling regional imbalance in the north.
The airport in Eglinton is owned by the council, but the local authority warned earlier this year that it would need help from Stormont to secure its future.
A document obtained by the BBC suggested the airport faced a £729,000 shortfall in funding in the 2024/25 financial year.
It was reported that £3.75m was needed to keep the airport afloat in the current year, with council coffers only sufficient to last until January 2025.
A Stormont spokesperson confirmed that Mr Murphy’s Department for the Economy is working with the Department for Infrastructure “to take responsibility for funding of the City of Derry Airport”.
He added: “This will enable the Derry City and Strabane Council to reinvest the £3m funding in initiatives to support regional balance.”
Stormont is already paying £1m per year to sustain flights between City of Derry and London Heathrow.
The public service obligation (PSO) route, currently operated by Loganair, has been funded jointly by Stormont and London since 2017.
The latest available data from the Civil Aviation Authority recorded 19,153 passengers passed through City of Derry Airport during July.
It compared to 709,170 passengers at Belfast International Airport in the same month.
Derry City and Strabane District Council is also set to receive its share of a new £45m fund announced by Conor Murphy, to create new local economic partnerships.
The economy minister also said Invest NI’s regional offices in Derry, Omagh, Newry and Ballymena would see staffing levels boosted by 40% as part of a range of regional economic measures.
Pledging to oversee “profound change” within Invest NI, the minister said it will in future, direct 65% of its investments outside the greater Belfast area.
In a statement, welcoming the economy minister’s announcement, a spokesperson for Derry City and Strabane District Council said it followed the submission of a business case by to government in April 2021.
“Council and City of Derry Airport officials have been and are continuing to engage with relevant government departments in relation to the detailed arrangements for the funding.
“The council welcomes the government’s recognition of the strategic importance of the airport to the city and region in terms of the significant role it plays in economic connectivity and providing local employment.”
