Dublin to Londonderry flights return in Irish budget: Cross-border schemes see boost
Regular flights between Londonderry and Dublin could take off next year, after an announcement in the Irish budget.
The Republic’s Public Expenditure Minister, Jack Chambers, said a new “Dublin to Derry airlink” would enable regular travel between the two cities.
That route hasn’t travelled since a previous flight, funded by the Irish government, was permanently grounded in 2011 when the money was pulled.
Announcing the budget for 2026 in the Dail today (7th) Mr Chambers said the government was “committed to supporting vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland”.
The move was welcomed as “hugely positive for the entire north-west” by Sinn Fein.
It will also mean more passengers for little-used City of Derry Airport, which is heavily publicly subsidised.
According to the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, last year it saw a little over 3,000 flights – roughly one-tenth the amount in Belfast City Airport, and far less than the almost 52,000 at Belfast International.
Just 179,000 passengers passed through the gates of City of Derry Airport in 2024, compared to 2.39m in Belfast City and 6.75m at Belfast International.
Yet the Londonderry facility is now funded to the tune of £3m annually by Stormont. That comes after the Department for the Economy took it off the hands of Derry City and Strabane Council, which had issued dire warnings about the airport’s finances in the last couple of years it was in charge.
Sinn Fein MLA Padraig Delargy said: “City of Derry Airport has a huge role to play in our local economy, helping to connect communities and businesses across these islands.
“Sinn Fein in the Executive has been working to support the airport, and this additional service funded by the Irish government will provide yet another boost.”
And Londonderry Chamber of Commerce CEO, Anna Doherty, said the “restoration of the Dublin route” would “openin up new opportunities for trade, investment and growth across our region”.
“The City of Derry Airport acts as a key gateway for tourism and connectivity in the North West, and this flight route being restored for the first time since 2011 has the potential to be an economic catalyst for our region,” she said.
Elsewhere, the Irish budget concentrates on boosting public spending, especially on housing and infrastructure, as well as cutting business taxes and incentivising foreign investment.
That would include, said Mr Chambers, doubling resources for its ‘Shared Island initiative’ – a scheme in collaboration with Westminster and the Northern Ireland Executive aimed at increasing all-island economic operations, as well as “deepening North/South cooperation” and investing in the north-west and border regions.
The minister also promised progress on a scheme to restore the 19th century Ulster Canal, which runs from Co Armagh to Co Monaghan, and more movement on the under-construction £84m Narrow Water bridge, intended to link south Co Down in Northern Ireland with north Co Louth in the Republic and boost tourism.
Among other measures in the budget are cuts to VAT on food businesses and the construction of apartments, hoped to boost the Republic’s hospitality and housing sectors. There’s also an increase to tax credits available for research and development, a move that foreign firms looking to invest in the Republic were calling for.
But an absence of cost living assistance payments or income tax cuts drew criticism.