A direct bus service will link Nottingham to the airport

The airport says it approached councillors in Nottingham, Leicester and Derby about a shuttle service.

But so far only Nottingham City Council has taken up the offer, with the service running from next month.

Officials in Derby say they cannot afford to finance the project and claim Nottingham has managed to get a large grant to help pay for it.

'Not biased'

They say they have asked the newly renamed airport to contribute to the cost of the service, but the request was turned down.

A rural bus that goes through some of Derbyshire's villages before arriving at the airport is about to be cut back because of rising costs.

The East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) has contributed some of the costs of setting up the link between Nottingham and the airport.

But a spokeswoman for EMDA has denied claims the organisation is biased towards Nottingham, saying the two other cities also had the chance to bid to become the base for a link.

In Leicester, transport planners say it could be years before there is a direct shuttle bus between the city and the airport.