History

• During World War 2 military bases were set up throughout Northern Ireland and along the east coast there were air bases at Ballykelly, Maydown and Eglinton.
  
• The air base at Eglinton was a Fleet Arm base and was used to provide convoy air cover for the North Atlantic Fleet.
  
• After the war the base remained in the military's hands until the 1950's when the majority of the land was given back to the original landowners by the Ministry of Defence.
  
• During the 1960s limited commercial activities took place at the airfield with Emerald airlines operating a Glasgow service.
  
• During the 1970s any flying that took place at the airport was by Eglinton Flying Club and this flying club and flight school is still based there.
  
• In 1978 Derry City Council took the decision to purchase the airfield with a view to improving the transport infrastructure for the North West of Ireland.
  
• Over the next few years the airport slowly developed.
  
• In 1979 Loganair introduced the first scheduled flight between Derry and Glasgow - still operating today.
  
• This route was the only route for ten years until British Airways introduced a daily Manchester service in 1989.
  
• By the late 1980's it became evident that the airport needed major investment if it was ever to achieve its full potential.
  
• The Council applied for grant aid from the European Regional Development Fund and a major redevelopment programme was undertaken from 1989 to 1993.
  
• A total of £10.5 million was spent upgrading all of the facilities at the airport. Runways, taxiways, access roads, navigation equipment, runway lighting, and a new purpose-built terminal and fire station were developed.
  
• The new terminal was officially opened in March 1994. The name of the airport was officially changed form Eglinton to the City of Derry Airport.
  
• There were still only two scheduled routes carrying approximately 40,000 passenger per year. 1995 saw a major breakthrough with the arrival of Jersey European Airways.
  
• The airport continues to develop with Air Lingus, Aer Arran, British Airways and Ryanair now operating and over 200,000 passengers passing through the airport each year