Political stalemate putting City of Derry Airport at risk - Eastwood

Mr. Eastwood made the comments after an SDLP delegation met with the permanent secretary of the Department of the Economy.

The SDLP leader was accompanied by constituency colleague Mark H Durkan MLA and East Derry MLA John Dallat.

“The delay to investment at the airport is just one more casualty of political failure.

“Last year to much fanfare the Executive announced a £7million funding package to help attract new airlines and improve infrastructure.

“However, this money has not been forthcoming due to the collapse of the power-sharing government.

“Today at a meeting with an SDLP delegation, the Department confirmed that if a local budget had been in place, further route development at the airport could have been significantly progressed.

“This is totally unacceptable. City of Derry Airport desperately needs this funding and should not be held back due to the political deadlock."

Mr. Eastwood went on to accuse both the DUP and Sinn Fein of failing "to deliver on economic rights or language rights".

“The failure of Sinn Fein’s former Finance Minister Máirtín Ó Muilleoir in the last Assembly to set a budget has already left not only our airport but our public services at crisis point.

“After 10 years of government together the DUP and Sinn Fein utterly failed to deliver on economic rights or language rights, now is the opportunity for them to prove if they are either up for the job or they are not.

“It’s time to get back to work. Our airport, our health service and our schools cannot pay the price for political failure.”