Donegal County Council is set to call on the government to support the restoration of the Derry to Dublin air link.
The public service obligation (PSO) route from Derry Airport was cancelled in 2011.
Thirteen years on, Buncrana Councillor Jack Murray says that financial support is needed to get the service back up in the air.
Speaking at yesterday’s county council meeting, Cllr Murray said that Donegal Airport’s Dublin route is a fantastic service, but is not feasible for people from Inishowen.
“At one point, the stats showed that 40% of passengers that travel through Derry Airport were from Donegal so I think we have a duty to do it,” Cllr Murray said.
Cllr Murray outlined that the service would be used by people travelling to Dublin for medical reasons, reducing their suffering on the long road journey. The flight would also benefit local business and tourism, he said.
“Donegal is in a very good place in terms of tourism, we are getting some fantastic coverage from the Lonely Planet and National Geographic but we need to get those people here,” he said.
“If Americans can book a flight to Derry they can bounce through Dublin and straight up, rather than the 3.5 or 4 hour car journey.
“We want the A5 built but we can restore the PSO much quicker, it just needs financial support.”
Cllr Murray welcomed moves by Northern Ireland’s Finance Minister Conor Murphy to seek the reinstatement of the service, adding that the Irish government must also row in behind it.
Mr Garry Martin, Director of Economic Development, responded to say that increasing accessibility to the county and to the North West City Region is something the council would be supportive of.
“Affordable accessibility in the shortest travel time practicable to and from Donegal and the region is critical for economic and business development and growth,” Mr Martin said.
“The Public Service Obligation (PSO) for flights from Donegal Airport to Dublin Airport provides very important
accessibility and acts to mitigate poor surface transport infrastructure that currently exists in Donegal and re-establishing the Derry to Dublin flights from City of Derry Airport to Dublin would further enhance accessibility to Donegal.”
