City of Derry airport London route to change destination

Image caption, City of Derry Airport is owned by Derry City and Strabane District Council

Flights to London from the City of Derry Airport will soon be heading to a new destination.

Loganair flights had been flying into Stansted Airport but they will now be bound for Southend from October 2019.

The public service obligation route is subsidised by the UK government and the Department for Transport reiterated its funding commitment until 2021.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he was backing the route because the daily direct flights were "important".

"Whether it brings businesses together or reunites loved ones it will enhance connections across the UK," he said.

"This public service obligation protects an important route which provides a valuable connection for businesses in the region, maintaining 26 flights per week on a 49-seater aircraft.

"Up to six direct trains an hour from London Southend Airport also provide a connection to the City of London in just over 50 minutes."

Both Stansted and Southend are in Essex, east of London, and the train journey into the centre of London is only a few minutes longer from Southend.

Scottish airline Loganair took over the London Stansted route in February, following the collapse of Flybmi, which had operated flights between the airports since 2017.

The public service obligation air route, the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, has been in place since 2017.