John Spellar was told in 2005 that a recommendation from MPs for a review into the governance of City of Derry Airport could be ‘awkward’.

The commencement of a new ‘Dublin-Derry airlink’ in 2026 was among the budgetary measures announced by the Government on Tuesday.

The Dublin – Heathrow route, the second busiest air route in Europe, was severely impacted.

It comes after more than 1,000 flights to and from Heathrow were cancelled on Friday due to a power outage.

The route, operated by Loganair, is jointly funded by the UK Department for Transport and the Stormont Department for the Economy.