An additional £2 million of government funding has been announced to support an air route from Derry to London Heathrow for another year.
Flights from City of Derry Airport to London have been publicly subsidised since 2017.
The Department for Transport in London and Stormont’s Department for the Economy have each pledged around £1m to continue the operation into the next financial year.
The contract, which has been retained by Loganair, will see the Scottish airline continue operating 20 return flights per week to Heathrow from April 1.
Loganair switched the Derry public service obligation (PSO) route from Stansted to Heathrow.
City of Derry Airport managing director Steve Frazer said the continuation of the connectivity with London “is vital for the north-west region to support our economic growth, improving both our business and tourism opportunities”.
Owned by Derry City and Strabane District Council, the City of Derry airport currently costs ratepayers around £3.45m each year to operate.
It emerged last month that the north west council is facing a funding shortfall of around £729,000 in airport funding for the next financial year.
Welcoming the funding from Conor Murphy’s economy department, Steve Frazer said: “We also very much welcome the visit of Minister O’Dowd, and look forward to working with his department to finalise a support package which will ensure the airport continues to contribute to the economic growth of our region for some years to come, something which has not been possible to achieve without ministers in place.”
Speaking at the airport on Wednesday, Conor Murphy said funding the route was an “early priority” for him on taking up office in recent weeks following the resurrection of powersharing government.
“The route connects the North West to London which helps thousands of people to travel to work and conduct business,” he said.
“This investment also protects jobs for airport workers and their families.