By Sabrina Sweeney
When Minister Jack Chambers flew into Donegal Airport recently, a short video of the descent he posted on Instagram drew far more engagement than his other social media content.
The Fianna Fáil Deputy Leader was generous in his praise of the airport during his visit and, for people in Donegal, it’s not hard to see why. The approach into Carrickfinn is one of those arrivals that sells the county in seconds.
But the importance of Donegal Airport isn’t the view. It’s what the service enables. The new Donegal–Dublin Public Service Obligation (PSO) contract, due to commence on 26 February 2026, is expected to alter the current timetable in ways that will have repercussions for many.
The changes being reported are clear in direction: morning and evening services pushed later, with the afternoon flight removed. Most significantly, as raised this week, the aircraft may no longer overnight in Donegal, instead returning to Dublin each evening.
That’s a change that brings reliability into sharp focus. A PSO exists to provide essential connectivity for a geographically remote county, and to do so in a way that works in real life, not just on paper.
Cancer patients are the clearest example. For people travelling to Dublin for treatment and essential appointments, the ability to fly up and back on the same day at workable times is vital.
A petition launched this week by Donegal Cancer Flights and Services warns the Minister for Transport that this service is “not a luxury” and calls for guarantees that genuine same-day medical access remains central to the PSO, otherwise, what’s the point of it?
Donegal has no train line. Bus journeys from Dublin are long. Driving is possible for many, but can add to cost, time and stress and often means an overnight stay. When you add illness into the equation, those pressures multiply quickly.
It matters for business and tourism too. For businesses, the Dublin link and onward connections beyond it can be the difference between a day trip and a two-day trip. For tourism, accessibility shapes choices. A less workable service makes Donegal harder to reach, and that has consequences.
This is why the headline reassurance about two daily returns misses the point. The question is whether the timetable still delivers a workable window for essential travel, and whether the service remains dependable.
Reliability is the other major worry. Speaking on Highland Radio this week, Donegal Airport’s managing director, Eilísh Docherty, warned that if the aircraft no longer stays overnight in Donegal and must come from Dublin each morning, delays elsewhere can ripple into cancellations at Carrickfinn.
That operational detail matters when people are relying on the first flight of the day for hospital appointments, onward connections, or a journey that has to happen. Which makes the recent funding announcement all the more puzzling.
On 4 December, Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien announced €700,000 in operational funding for Donegal Airport under the Regional Airports Programme. The coverage leaned heavily on the language of “lifeline” and “connectivity”. So, weeks later, it’s hard to reconcile that message with a contract change that appears to narrow the timetable that makes the PSO workable in the first place. Because the PSO is not just a subsidy, it’s a statement of purpose.
When the Government extended the current contract, it framed the service as facilitating same-day return trips and supporting connectivity via Dublin. The whole point is not merely that flights exist, but that they function as a practical link for a region without rail infrastructure and with long road journeys.
That brings us to the tender. Reporting suggests it required two daily return flights but did not require an afternoon service. But what evidence shaped that choice, and what input, if any, was sought from those who rely on the route?
And if the aircraft will no longer overnight in Donegal, what safeguards are built in to protect reliability, especially for the first flight of the day?
None of these questions are unreasonable when public money is being used to protect an essential link.
A PSO contract should put the needs of people in Donegal first, not the operational convenience or profit margins of an airline.
Donegal doesn’t just need flights. It needs a workable, reliable timetable that keeps the county connected.
