PEARSE Doherty has welcomed the news that the Donegal to Dublin flight will resume from next week with an interim seven-month contract having been awarded to Amapola Flyg.
The Sinn Fein TD has also called on the Department to immediately begin the process of preparing and planning for the new PSO tender process which is due at the end of this year and which will see the service being awarded to the successful bidder on a longer, four-year contract.
Speaking this morning, Deputy Doherty said: “I am glad that the Department heeded my calls to appoint an interim carrier to this important route rather than waiting for a full tender process to play-out.
“That would have taken too long and the people of Donegal would have been left without a flight service for months on end.
“The appointment of Amapola Flyg is welcome news and will come as a relief to many patients, workers, businesses and students who depend on the service.
“However, the Department must now start preparing and planning for the full tender process which is due to begin at the end of the year. This is an important process in that the successful bidder will be awarded the service contract on a four-year basis.
“The bidding criteria must be carefully considered by the Department to ensure that the cost of flights, along with the proposed timetables, will meet the needs of the community it serves.
“I will be following up with the Department over the coming months to seek progress updates.”
