City of Derry Airport to get £3m Stormont support package

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

City of Derry airport is to receive £3m of government funding to help safeguard its "immediate future".

The money is being provided by two Stormont departments to help cover the airport's running costs.

Derry City and Strabane District Council previously warned the airport could become a "severe financial risk" without government support.

The airport, which is owned by the council, is managed at a cost of £3.4m per year to ratepayers.

It has been beset by long-term funding issues.

In May last year, the council had requested £15m from Stormont, spread over six years, to help maintain the commercial viability of the airport.

A report given to councillors at that time pointed out that this £15m would bring a potential saving of £3.5m per year for the council.

'A really positive step'

The airport's managing director said the funding, from the Department for Infrastructure and Department of Finance, will help secure the "immediate future" of the airport.

"It's a really positive step and a clear recognition of the wider benefits that the airport provides for the north west," Steve Frazer told BBC Radio Foyle's Breakfast Show.

"More importantly it's a recognition that we need to remove the reliance on Derry City and Strabane District Council ratepayers.

"They have funded this airport for many years and we need to move away from that."

• Fears for future of City of Derry Airport

• Council seeks £15m airport funds from UK government

• Nearly £6m needed to keep airport open

Mr Frazer said the airport is a huge boost for the north west economy, despite it currently operating at a £2.5m average loss per year.

He said while the loss was significant, the benefits "are normally ten times that for the regional economy".