Numerous reasons for saving Doncaster Sheffield Airport from closure - Jayne Dowle

With perfect timing, ‘DSA’ has just won the award for best small airport in the UK. How ironic that South Yorkshire’s only airport should receive this accolade now.

If that’s not proof that demand for DSA exists and that the airport and its 800 staff, who face losing their jobs, delivers above expectations, I don’t know what is.

One person responding to the awards questionnaire, issued by consumer organisation Which?, said, “that’s how air travel should be”.

Regular users would no doubt agree; from the seamless arrival and parking within easy walking distance of the terminal, to the friendly welcome in Wetherspoons (The Running Horse) as you wait to board, it’s a world of difference from some airports I could mention.

Manchester, for example. I try, as far as possible, to avoid it, because it’s huge – we’ve put in a full mile’s worth of steps walking from Terminal One to Terminal Three, crowded (try getting a seat in any café or bar at 6.30am), and can be seriously overwhelming for anyone even vaguely anxious about air travel.

However, these days it seems that if you want to leave the country from the North of England, there’s often no choice but to cross the Pennines - a journey which can be far more trepidatious than a two-hour flight to Spain – and join the hordes.

I’ve written before about how the number of flights leaving other Northern and Midlands airports, including Leeds Bradford and East Midlands, seems to be shrinking, especially out of the main summer holiday season.

That DSA is unprofitable is the main argument of its owners, who say they have poured £250m into the site over the last 25 years. However, surely the airport deserves every chance to at least stay operational, giving it a chance to ride the storm?

This recent award is the fourth time in a row that Which? has recognised DSA for its short queues, friendly staff and “faultless service”.

Indeed, DSA beat off other regional airports including Liverpool John Lennon, London City and Exeter, with a customer satisfaction score of 85 per cent, taken from the experiences of almost 7,500 travellers who were asked to give their views on everything from the length of the queues to the number of shops.

Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones was given a solemn promise by Liz Truss – remember her? – that she would do what she could to keep the airport open. As we know, like much of what Ms Truss said, that vow turned out to be a lot of hot air.

Now Ms Jones is urging the new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, whose Richmond constituency is just 80 miles up the A1 from Doncaster, to put pressure on Peel to reverse the closure and to carefully consider the new offer on the table.

This comes after the mayor announced that Doncaster Council is taking legal action - by applying for an injunction - to prevent Peel from removing “key assets” while talks about a potential takeover are ongoing.

I’d say, and I’d repeat this to the new Prime Minister, who is a Northern MP after all, that it is more important than ever to recognise our regional assets and not allow them to be stripped with no recourse.

Campaigners, led by Ms Jones, are calling for DSA to be brought into public ownership under Doncaster Council and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMA), like Manchester Airport and Teeside Airport, which are controlled by council or combined authorities.

To be fair, Transport Minister Katherine Fletcher says that the Government has told Peel Group to “look seriously at commercial interest” and accept taxpayer-funded loans if it needs more time to discuss takeover deals.

However, Labour's Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said that at present, SYMA and local councils cannot buy shares in the airport, because the owners are “refusing to sell”.

So we have a stalemate. So far, the Government has stopped short of agreeing to use the powers set out in the Civil Contingency Act 2004 to keep the airport open - but time is running out for them to go ahead and make a stand.

The last thing the Conservatives should do is look back, but one lesson from the past is surely salutary. Once assets have gone, they do not return. And nowhere is this more pertinent than in Yorkshire, which suffered such a huge decimation of heavy industry and manufacturing during the Thatcher years.