Three airlines, including Ryanair, have been offered contracts to provide air services on six regional routes.
Aer Arann, CityJet and Ryanair have been offered the PSO (public service obligation) contracts for a three-year period starting on July 22.
Aer Arann will continue to operate services on routes linking Dublin with the regional airports in Galway, Derry, Sligo and Donegal. Cityjet will operate the service from Dublin to Ireland West Airport Knock.
The contract for the Dublin-Kerry Airport route has been offered to Ryanair, which the Department of Transport said was expected to respond shortly. The Knock and Kerry routes were awarded to Scottish carrier Loganair under the previous contract.
Aer Arann will provide three daily return services on the Galway route and two daily return services on the Sligo, Donegal and Derry routes. CityJet will provide one return service each day on the Knock route. Ryanair would provide three daily return services on the Kerry route.
