Flights between City of Derry and Liverpool to be reinstated later this year

The axed flight route from City of Derry Airport to Liverpool is to be reinstated.

Ryanair had operated the service for many years but cancelled it in December.

The company said its decision was as a result of Brexit.

However, Loganair, which already operates a service between London and City of Derry Airport, has announced that it will also take on the Liverpool service later this year.

The flights will start on May 24 and tickets go on sale from tomorrow, March 9.

Loganair say the price for the flights will start at £44.99.

The reinstating of the Liverpool route with be particularly welcomed by football fans.

The route has been popular with fans travelling to Liverpool and Everton matches, as well as other teams in the north west region of England.

The Glasgow-based company will initially offer flights on four days of the week: Monday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Weekday flights will leave City of Derry at 10.50am arriving Liverpool at 11.50am, and return from Liverpool at 12.20am arriving City of Derry at 13.20am.

The frequency of flights will increase to daily from late June. 

The new flights will be operated by Loganair’s team of pilots, cabin crew and engineers already based at City of Derry Airport, at which Loganair was the first operator when the airport opened for business in April 1980.

This new Liverpool service follows comes after last week's confirmation by the Department for Transport of continued funding for the City of Derry to Stansted PSO route operated by Loganair.

The company will also be increasing flights linking Derry with Glasgow from late June.

Services will gear up from four days per week to daily as extra flights on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday are introduced to the timetable.

The move will secure the long-standing airbridge between City of Derry and Scotland despite Ryanair’s decision to withdraw its flights from Derry to Edinburgh.

Loganair’s Chief Executive Jonathan Hinkles said: “Frequent air links are essential for so many aspects of working and family life, even as we work to re-build and recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Loganair already serves both City of Derry and Liverpool airports, and when the opportunity arose for us to connect these two important destinations in our network following another airline’s withdrawal, we were only too pleased to step in to safeguard these connections.

“Loganair’s ability to grow at City of Derry is in no small part thanks to the exemplary reputation for reliability and service established by our locally-based team.

“I’m most grateful to all of them for maintaining our London services without interruption over the difficult last 12 months.

“It’s wonderful to be able to recognise their superb efforts today by re-doubling our commitment to City of Derry’s air links.”

Steve Frazer, Managing Director of City of Derry Airport, said they were pleased that Loganair have 'again shown their commitment to regional connectivity from the North West of NI'.

“Increasing the frequency to seven days a week from the end of June will give maximum choice and flexibility to both business and leisure travellers,” said Mr Frazer.

Paul Winfield, Director of Aviation Development at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, said the Liverpool route is 'an important link between our two cities and their regions beyond, having already proved popular by travellers flying in both directions'.

“As we plan ahead for a return to normality after the difficulties of the past year, domestic air travel is likely to recover sooner and this route will help travellers to once again be able to enjoy all that’s on offer from our two great regions,” he said.