City of Derry Airport: Loganair to begin Manchester flights

City of Derry Airport is owned by Derry City and Strabane District Council

The airline taking over the City of Derry Airport to London Stansted route at the end of this month will also operate a daily service to Manchester.

Loganair will fly to Manchester from Derry from 24 May.

The Scottish airline will take over the former Flybmi route from City of Derry Airport to London Stansted from 27 February.

It follows the collapse of Flybmi, which had operated flights between the airports since 2017.

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• Passengers struggle after Flybmi collapse

Flybmi filed for administration and ceased operations last Saturday.

Welcoming the announcement of the Manchester route, the mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor John Boyle said it was hugely significant.

Loganair will fly to Stansted from Derry from 27 February

"This is great news for the city region and testament to the huge amount of work being done by the council, the airport and partners to secure new destinations and increase connectivity between our regions," he said.

"Manchester is a hugely popular destination and we are confident that there will be substantial demand and uptake for this route.

"We will continue to work with the airlines and partners to support these important air links and remain committed to continue with negotiations to secure new routes for our business and leisure visitor markets."

Jonathan Hinkles, Loganair's managing director, said: "Our new Manchester route marks a further expansion of the airline's destination map from Derry, building our relationship with the airport and providing even more choice to customers.

"With a robust economy and diverse cultural offering, we're excited to connect the two cities."

Loganair already operates a Derry to Glasgow service.

It will operate a twice-daily service to Stansted from 27 February.