Dublin should be asked to contribute to the funding of Derry airport, says Sinn Féin MLA Martina Anderson

Martina Anderson says responsibility for funding City of Derry Airport (CoDA) should not be left solely to ratepayers.
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The MLA said the facility serves a far wider catchment than Derry and Strabane and that the Dublin government should contribute.

“Derry’s airport services the entire north-west and further afield, and 40% of the passengers who use it come from Donegal, yet the operational cost of the airport is left to the ratepayers of Derry, with the Irish Government making no contribution at all,” she told MLAs this week.

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She asked Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon if the operational cost and financial sustainability of the airport was discussed at the most recent meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council.

The minister replied: “The issue of air connectivity falls to the Department for the Economy.

“While we raised the issue in general, discussions are ongoing between the Department of Transport in the South, the Department for the Economy here and the Department for Transport in London on the wider air connectivity piece, so the Member may want to raise that issue directly with the Minister for the Economy.

“However, I assure the Member that I am very conscious of the continued impact on our airports, and, either this week or next week, I will meet representatives from City of Derry Airport with the Minister of Finance.”

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