'Focused on our own project': Doncaster Sheffield Airport bosses respond to Cardiff's £205m legal ruling
Officials behind plans to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport say they are "focused on delivering our own project successfully" following a legal ruling backing a major subsidy being given to a publicly-run airport.
City of Doncaster Council intends to loan more than £128m at low interest rates to a newly-formed council-owned company called FlyDoncaster as a key part of its reopening strategy for the airport.
There is the potential for the funding to be subject to a legal challenge from rival airports, which have already raised concerns about the planned spending.
But earlier this week, a challenge by the privately-owned Bristol Airport against the Welsh government giving a £205m subsidy to the state-run Cardiff Airport was rejected in a potential boost to DSA’s plans.
Cardiff, which has been under public control since 2013, is receiving £105.2m towards improving facilities with a further £100m for paying incentives to airlines to expand routes from the site.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal accepted the Welsh government’s argument that the subsidy was being granted to the airport company and that later payments from Cardiff to airlines “would not themselves be subsidies”.
Leeds Bradford Airport chief executive Vincent Hodder has previously said he would have a “real problem” with the use of taxpayer money to entice airlines to move to DSA. But he also said DSA “can do as they wish” in regard to infrastructure investment.
The council has previously said that it believed any “discounts or incentives” offered to airlines would comply with legal rules. It has also said it would “robustly defend” any legal challenge.
When asked by The Yorkshire Post about the Cardiff ruling, Christian Foster, Director of FlyDoncaster, said: “While we follow all aviation industry news with interest, we are focused on delivering our own project successfully. This has included putting in place a highly experienced project team, who are progressing all the elements needed to successfully reopen an airport.
“We also have a firm plan and business case in place, which will help ensure that all regulatory requirements are met.
“We have engaged with industry partners as part of our airspace change proposal and received positive feedback from several airport operators about our plans. In Yorkshire, we believe there is space for two exceptional airports and look forward to continuing positive discussions within the sector.”
Leeds Bradford Airport did not wish to comment.
Other regional airports have previously expressed concerns about the subsidy plan while the office of South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard has warned a legal challenge could lead to a “significant delay” to the reopening project. The challenge by Bristol was lodged in June, meaning it has taken 10 months to conclude.
A report was published in January 2025 by the Government’s Subsidy Advice Unit at a point when the council’s plan was to lend £105m to FlyDoncaster at rates which meant the money would equate to an effective £89.7m grant. Both Leeds Bradford Airport and the Regional & City Airports, which owns airports in Exeter, Norwich and Bournemouth, questioned the “proportionality” of the planned subsidy.
Once the council passes funding to FlyDoncaster, it will be required to publish details of the figures within three months of a decision to grant money. There will then be a further month for any interested party to apply to the Competition Appeal Tribunal for a review.
The Cardiff ruling comes in the midst of uncertainty about the future of the DSA project as Reform councillors seek to overturn a £57m loan facility which was approved in November over concerns about the lease agreement for the site which have come to light since the vote.
The borrowing was agreed to frontload spending on the project in advance of £160m of devolution funding being provided to the council in annual instalments. But the release of the £160m funding is dependent on aspects of the council’s lease deal with landowner Peel being renegotiated, with no agreement yet in place.
Concerns about break clauses “in favour of the landowner” on achieving passenger number targets above the most optimistic forecasts and “clarifying points in relation to turnover rent” are among the key areas being discussed.
According to a leaked copy of the lease, revealed by The Yorkshire Post, under the current terms 20 per cent of turnover from DSA is due to be paid to Peel - potentially including taxpayer-funded grants.
An extraordinary council meeting is due to take place on April 30.