Reopened Doncaster Sheffield Airport can co-exist with 'thriving' Leeds Bradford and East Midlands, claims mayor
Doncaster Sheffield Airport will have to “get our elbows out” to re-establish its place among the UK’s passenger airports should the reopening take place, Oliver Coppard has said.
Speaking to business leaders in Doncaster on Tuesday, Mr Coppard said he believes it is possible for DSA to coexist alongside a “thriving” Leeds Bradford Airport.
LBA has previously hit out at plans to use tens of millions of pounds of public money for the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield as “unfair competition” which could impact its operations and passenger numbers.
Mr Coppard said commercial airports are a "competitive market", with expansion plans for Gatwick and Heathrow, upgrades to the Leeds Bradford terminal and ambitions for East Midlands airport to handle more freight.
“It is a competitive marketplace and there are airports that do want to expand and the Government is keen to see them expand and keen to see our airport reopen,” he said.
“The good news is the aviation market is growing and therefore there is that opportunity to reopen DSA and have a thriving Leeds Bradford and a thriving East Midlands. That's not without controversy, that's not without people saying that's not the case and not without people saying we shouldn't be flying more at all. That is a valid opinion, not one I hold but it is valid. I'd say we can have fewer people flying overall but certainly more people flying from an airport like DSA.
“We're going to have to get our elbows out if we do reopen DSA and show that we've got a place in this market and we can expand and grow an airport. That's going to have to be based on real investment and based on us arguing we've got a place in this system.”