Carlisle Airport plans get £5million government funding

Passenger flights from Carlisle Airport to London, Belfast, Dublin and some USA cities could be a step closer to reality with nearly £5-million of government funding.

The £4.75million, which comes from Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, will be used to improve the runway and terminal.

It will allow the creation of new passengers routes to Belfast, London Southend and Dublin, plus an international hub with direct flights to most of Europe and cities in the US including New York, Boston and Washington.

The development of the airport, owned by Stobart Group, would also be used to move freight by air.

The Local Enterprise Partnership has also invested £784,000 in the University of Cumbria's new Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) labs, to address the area’s skills shortages.