Passenger numbers halved at City of Derry Airport

 
Passenger numbers using City of Derry Airport have halved over the last five years.
The decline is reportedly linked to the withdrawal of Ryanair’s London-Stansted flights from Derry over two years ago.
Figures show that that between 2013 and 2018, the numbers using the council-owned airport have fallen from nearly 385,000 in 2013, to nearly 186,000 in 2018.
According to a spokesperson for the airport, the decline is a result of reduced capacity following the withdrawal of Ryanair’s London-Stansted service.
Ryanair had been operating a route between Derry and Stansted but decided to axe the flights in March 2017.
While operations of a double daily public service obligation route to London- Stansted commenced in May 2017, it offers more frequency but less capacity than the previous operator, the spokesperson said.
In sharp contrast, two million more passengers used Belfast International alone in 2018 than in 2013.