1945–1989 The
airport has its origins in the
Second World War. In 1941, the
Royal Air Force (RAF) Eglinton air base was established as the home to
No. 133 Squadron RAF which flew
Hawker Hurricanes in defence of the city. In 1942 the base was occupied by
No. 41 Squadron RAF. In 1943 the airfield became a
Fleet Air Arm base called
RNAS Eglinton (HMS
Gannet) and was home to No. 1847 Fleet Air Arm Squadron which provided convoy air cover as part of the
Battle of the Atlantic.
2006–2011 In May 2006, the
European Commission gave its approval for the British and Irish governments to invest €15 million in the airport. Although this work did not include the lengthening of the single serviceable runway, it included the expansion of the safety zones at each end which would allow jets to land and take off with full passenger capacities. Operators of
Boeing 737 jets were previously limited to 80% capacity as a safety feature due to the short length of the runway. Other works included the expansion of the
apron immediately in front of the
control tower which would allow for the parking of several aircraft at any one time. As a prelude to the expansion at the airport several families were removed from their homes under a Government
Compulsory Purchase scheme before the buildings and outbuildings were demolished. The decrease in operational hours at the airport as a direct consequence of the challenging economic conditions have caused problems for Eglinton Flying Club and the helicopter flight training facility, who in turn have threatened to leave the airport if the decisions are not reversed. They have claimed that this would cost the airport some £250,000 in annual revenue while the owners, Derry City Council, have countered that the decrease in operational hours was necessary as part of the implementation of the £600,000 budget reduction plan. In January 2009, the council appointed Albert Harrison, the former head of
Belfast International Airport, as the new manager of the airport. He had been tasked with turning the loss-making facility around and has been given just six months to implement savings of £600,000 per annum and increase the number of carriers, destinations, and passengers. The recently completed runway safety zone extension and apron works have allowed the
CAA to lift the capacity restriction on aircraft operating out of the airport. This has increased seat availability and passenger throughput at the airport. It also enabled Ryanair to establish their first international route from the airport to
Alicante. In April 2009 the council issued tender documents for a multimillion-pound expansion of the terminal to improve passenger flow and meet current EU customs and immigration regulations. The arrivals hall has recently been improved and tax free shopping,
WHSmith and the Amelia Earhart Business lounge in the departure area are open during operational hours. On 9 October 2009,
Derry City Council who own and operate the airport began the process which will lead to the privatisation of the facility. Initially, a holding company will be set up by the council which will own 100% of the shares, thereafter the council intends to do market research to seek the level of interest in private sector investors. As part of the privatisation plan two subsidiaries will be formed that will operate the airport and manage the estate. In June 2010 it was announced that the Airport was in the final stages of discussion with the
Balfour Beatty Group about a management contract, with the objective of bringing additional commercial experience and resources to the Airport for the economic benefit of the region and to reduce the subvention from the City Council. The Belfast to Derry single-track railway line of
Northern Ireland Railways passes close to but not across the tip of the runway at the North Eastern end. Because it is in the
Runway End Safety Area, safety systems ensure that no train can pass when aircraft are taking off or landing.
2011–2022 Ryanair axed its services to
Alicante and
Birmingham in 2014, followed by its service to
Faro in 2016. In 2017, Ryanair axed its daily service to
London Stansted. In response, the airport submitted a
public service obligation request to the
Department for Transport. The Northern Ireland Executive also agreed a multimillion-pound funding package for the airport.
Flybmi commenced operations on the Stansted route in 2017, with 13 weekly flights. These flights operated up until February 2019, when Flybmi ceased operations. In October 2018, Ryanair replaced its Derry to
Glasgow route with a new route to
Edinburgh. Following this decision,
Loganair resumed operations to Glasgow, having previously operated the route between 1979 and 2007. In 2019 following
flybmi's collapse Loganair announced they would be taking on the route while adding a new service to Manchester.
Loganair ended flights to
Manchester in Early 2020 while also reverting flights back to
London Stansted from
London Southend after previously being switched in September 2019. In December 2020,
Ryanair was forced to axe all of their flights from the UK to non-EU destinations (including UK domestic routes) due to a row with the
Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom). The CAA required that post-Brexit, all flights originating from the United Kingdom to non-EU-based destinations for airlines with a base airport in the United Kingdom use aircraft with a UK registration (E.g.: G-ABCD). Due to this, Ryanair decided to axe these routes saying "The decision to cancel these flights was taken by Ryanair alone. We will continue to engage with the airline on these matters as we seek to act in the best interest of consumers". The UK regional airline
Loganair will launch a route to Liverpool (Ryanair operated from Derry to Liverpool & Edinburgh), replacing the lost
Ryanair route, beginning 24 May 2021. In October 2021
Ryanair announced their return to the airport with a new service to
Manchester operating three times a week, which commenced at the beginning of December 2021.
Loganair also announced a new route in late October to Edinburgh, this service would launch on the 17th of May 2022, and operates thrice weekly, increasing to five times weekly in the summer.
2023–present Loganair announced they would be ceasing all flights to
Edinburgh from City of Derry Airport from January 3, 2023, as a result
Loganair stated they would be increasing the frequency of
Glasgow flights to daily. In September 2023
Loganair announced they would no longer operate scheduled flights between City of Derry and
Liverpool, with regular services halting in October 2023, and only select dates between then and January 2024 available for purchase. In January 2024,
Ryanair announced they would be launching a new service from Derry to
Birmingham twice weekly. It would be the first since a previous
Ryanair route connecting Birmingham and Derry was scrapped in 2014. On 4 November 2024
easyJet began flights to the airport for the very first time, re-establishing routes to
Edinburgh and
Liverpool twice weekly. In April 2025,
easyJet announced the launch of a new route to
Birmingham, replacing the service operated by
Ryanair which ceased at the end of March. The new route is the third new service easyJet has added to its City of Derry network in the last 12 months, making it the largest airline at the airport by destinations served. ==Airlines and destinations==