City of Derry Airport business case ‘critical’ for long term sustainability is nearing completion

The business case will be shared with Government departments in a bid to secure additional funding.

Alfie Dallas, Head of Strategic Finance & Funding informed Members of the Council Audit, Assurance & Risk Committee, that a York Aviation report into the viability of the airport has been completed.

“The purpose of the report was basically to inform of all the options to the airport and it will now form part of the business case,” he said.

“That business case is almost complete and will come before Council in the next few weeks once complete.

“It’s obviously a critical case for our longer term sustainability in that we need Government support to assist us with the airport.”

In November 2020 City of Derry Airport received an emergency funding package of £1.23 million (based on 50 per cent of its deficit for this financial year) to help keep it operational until March 2021. 

It followed intervention provided earlier in the year to assist the airport to remain open during the pandemic.

Last December it emerged that the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Infrastructure, Katrina Godfrey, had raised value for money concerns about the £1.233m support package.

Ms. Godfrey wrote to the Auditor General Kieran Donnelly on November 16 about funding for the airport.

Mr. Donnelly, asked about the latter at the Public Accounts Committee in December, said: “If you do an appraisal by the book, you know, the airport isn’t going to wipe its face and financially it will need ongoing subsidy. That’s just a fact of life on it.”