'Hugely significant' - cancer charity welcomes return of flights

The return of an afternoon flight service between County Donegal and Dublin has been welcomed by a cancer charity.

A contract for the government-funded service, awarded to Emerald Airlines in January, had proposed removing the afternoon flight and replacing it with only morning and evening services.

Campaigners had warned that removing the afternoon flight could force cancer patients into costly overnight stays or exhausting alternative journeys if they were unable to access same-day flights due to the timing of medical appointments.

Mary Coyle, from Donegal Cancer Flights and Services, which helps organise flights for cancer patients, welcomed the return of the afternoon service.

The afternoon service will resume between Donegal Airport in Castlefin and Dublin Airport from 1 May, Ireland's Department for Transport has confirmed.

In a statement, the department said Minister Darragh O'Brien "listened to the concerns raised by passengers and stakeholders including Donegal Airport and Donegal Cancer Flights and Services".

The department said the return of the afternoon flight "reflects the importance of the route for regional connectivity".

Officials said this would "help ensure greater accessibility" for passengers needing same-day travel, including those attending medical appointments.

Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle's Mark Patterson Show on Wednesday, Coyle said this "is a hugely significant day in Donegal".

"We are absolutely delighted. We had a very strong campaign and were definitely not taking 'no' for an answer.

"We travelled to Dublin to meet officials and the minister, Darragh O'Brien, and told them we were not going to go away and would fight this until the end.

"We were not asking for more; we were simply asking not to have less."

Coyle said that more than 20,000 people had signed a petition in response to the proposed changes and that the people of Donegal were simply not going to take this lying down.

"We have well over 500 people who use these flights to Dublin," she said.

"These include people with cancer diagnoses, those undergoing treatment and family members travelling with them.

"We also have children with life-limiting or long-term illnesses and people waiting on transplants, so many view that flight as a lifeline."

Coyle said the charity worked closely with oncology departments in a number of hospitals to coordinate appointments, ensuring people from Donegal could secure earlier slots in the day and return home in time for their flights.

She said the return of the afternoon service was down to the "power of people".