Quite surprised to see international routes on the PSO list for government funding
These are not PSO routes. PSO is a different and much more comprehensive concept.
Why should my taxpayer money be used to subsidise a flight I will never use when Flybe are starting a similar route down the road with no such requirement for a hand out of public money?
I am pretty certain that the DSA deal was agreed much later than the deadline for submissions to the Regional Air Connectivity Fund. So it is open to discussion whether BE would have applied for LBA-NQY if the DSA-NQY had already been sealed. Plus BE is under no obligation to start LBA-NQY. Who knows if DSA has some small print in its deal with BE that BE is not allowed to start LBA-NQY as DSA will have been fully aware of the pendung application for that route.
You are missing the point that Flybe can start a route using traditional methods at one airport, but up the road couldn't possibly start the route without a public handout.
Not necessarily. The Regional Air Connectivity Fund rules stipulate that a consortium must apply, i.e. airport + airline together. So if NQY is not interested in a DSA route, there is no way BE could apply for monies from the fund.