Operator yet to be appointed for Derry-Dublin flight route

No operator has yet been appointed for the new Londonderry-Dublin flight service, raising doubts over a proposed October start date.

In May, the Irish Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien told the Dáil (the lower house of the Irish parliament) that the service was expected to begin in October.

The actual start date is now unclear, with a spokesperson for City of Derry Airport (CODA) saying it is continuing to work closely with the Republic of Ireland's Department of Transport to progress the service.

It will be funded under a public service obligation (PSO) scheme, where governments support flights that would not otherwise be commercially viable.

A daily service between City of Derry Airport and Dublin, funded by the Irish government, was withdrawn in 2011 and attempts to revive the service faltered in 2016.

Last year, the Irish government said it hoped to reinstate the route by the end of 2026 after announcing in November that it was investing €2m (£1.76m) to get flights from Dublin to Londonderry up and running next year.

It announced more than €50m (£44m) worth of funding for projects as part of the Shared Island initiative.

Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme on Friday, Sinn Féin Donegal TD Pádraig Mac Lochlainn said it was "frustrating that the target date of October has been delayed".

"I received another parliamentary response yesterday [Thursday], and what the minister is saying is that because City of Derry operates outside of the European Union, the public service obligation air service has to operate outside of European Union regulations.

"So he is taking advice from the chief state solicitor's office and the office of the attorney general, and they are saying they are very close to issuing a request for tenders.

"Hopefully this happens very, very soon and I have been in contact with the team at City of Derry Airport and they are still very hopeful that this can happen before the end of the year."

Mac Lochlainn said the process had clearly been "complicated" by Brexit.

"That being said, I do think this should have been resolved by now," he said.

In a statement, the Republic of Ireland's Department of Transport said it anticipates "being in a position to publish a request for tenders (RfT) document very shortly".

The tender process will allow airlines to compete for the contract to operate the route.

The department said it hopes to award the contract this year, saying they hope services can begin "as soon as operationally feasible" once an operator has been appointed.