By Rebekah Logan
BMI Regional is to launch a new flight service between City of Derry airport and London Stansted.
Last year, Ryanair announced it would no longer operate the route, casting doubt on its future.
However, the UK Government has since announced that it would allocate £3.8 million to subsidise the route for two years.
It is the first public service obligation in Northern Ireland, with the UK Government funding the route until the end of the 2018/2019 financial year.
The Regional Air Connectivity Fund is used to protect important regional air connections to London which may otherwise be lost.
The new flights will operate twice daily, every day except Saturday when there will be one flight each way.
The new service will begin on May 2nd, with flights on-sale from March 9th.
The schedule, which will see flights departing Eglinton at 6.20am have been timed to suit business schedules.
John Kelpie is Chief Executive of Derry City and Strabane District Council:
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