The Department of Transport has said it will continue to monitor the operation of the daily flight service from Donegal Airport to Dublin following the recent cancellation of a dozen flights.
The cancellation of 12 flights in 12 days led to concern over the reliability of the daily service, which is described as a vital link for a county that has no railway or motorway.
There are two daily return flights from the airport in west Donegal to the capital.
Since February of last year, Public Service Obligation (PSO) flights have been operated by Emerald Airlines on behalf of Aer Lingus Regional services.
The service saves people a lengthy drive to Dublin and is popular with many who travel for business, education and, in particular, people who need to get to Dublin for medical reasons, including cancer treatment.
Emerald Airlines said the flights were cancelled due to a technical issue with the designated aircraft and people affected were offered coach transfers, accommodation, or the next available flight.
The airline apologised for the cancellations and said that "despite recent challenges, we have worked hard on recovering our excellent service levels, with operations now resumed as normal".
The airline said it has had completion rate of 97% since taking on the route in February last year.
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The cancellations caused particular distress for cancer patients, according to Mary Coyle, who organises the flights and other services for patients from Ionad Naomh Pádraig, a community centre in Dobhar in the heart of the Gaeltacht.
Donegal Cancer Flights and Services has charitable status and offers reduced price flights for those travelling for treatment and works in conjunction with the Irish Cancer Society, which provides volunteer drivers to bring Donegal patients to and from Dublin Airport to hospitals.
Ms Coyle said the situation was a nightmare.
They had patients booked on almost all of the cancelled flights, one person had a flight cancelled twice and had to undertake the journey by road even though they were not in any fit state to do so.
Other people, she said, were due to come back to Donegal after surgery in Dublin and were not well enough to travel up to five hours home by bus.
It was cruel, she said, adding that people deserve a quality service.
The issue has been raised with the airline and the Department of Transport by local Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty, who said questions remain to be answered by Emerald Airlines as to what exactly happened.
He said that it is understandable that there can be technical difficulties, but this was an on-going issue over two weeks.
He questioned why Donegal was affected and asked if the route was singled out.
Managing Director of Donegal Airport Eilís Docherty said the situation was highly unusual and was very concerning for passengers.
Any disruption in terms of the reliability of the service can damage passenger confidence, she said.
However, Ms Docherty said the airport has a good relationship with Emerald Airlines and it is a good route.
She said she hopes the issues have been resolved.
Mr Doherty agreed that the main thing now is that the issues appear to have been resolved and that route operates reliably.
The Department of Transport said that it is extremely unfortunate that a technical difficulty with the designated aircraft resulted in a number of cancellations.
However, it said it has been "informed by the operator that a standby aircraft has now entered into service and is operational on this route".
The department added that it "will continue to monitor the airline's performance on this route in accordance with the PSO contract for the provision of these services".
Local eyes too will be on the service in the future.
Ms Coyle said she cannot even describe how vital the service is for people travelling to Dublin for appointments and treatment and also for those who have to make connecting flights to hospitals overseas including Spain, Sweden and the UK.
She said she would like to think all will return to normal.
Ms Coyle added that she wants patients to feel they can depend on the service. It is the least they deserve, she said.
