Like BFS, LDY isn’t in the actual city it serves. If Flybe were in Derry, then they missed the airport by seven miles. I think if you remind yourself of my incredulity at the time you will see that I agreed with you re: likeihood of BE starting at LDY. Should Emirates start up at an airport ninety miles from an airport they already serve, in a part of the world which has no coherent government, an uncertain socioeconomic and geopolitical future, from an airport that can’t support a New York route, then I will happily meet you at your beloved Aldergrove and buy you a pint (even paying the £5.50 they charge).
Now. The 1970s called. They miss you.