Local leaders have shown great mettle in getting this far in the fight to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) but the real challenges lay ahead.

One of the key issues is now proving the financial viability of the airport. If DSA had been a viable commercial operation as an airport, previous operator Peel Group would not have pulled the plug on it.

Now it is up to Doncaster Council to show that it can make DSA work when Peel couldn’t.

It is good to see Oliver Coppard pledge to get independent auditors to assess the case for reopening Doncaster-Sheffield Airport and make sure “taxpayers’ money is well spent”.

Doncaster Sheffield Airport closed in 2022.

placeholder image — Doncaster Sheffield Airport closed in 2022.

But a full and robust business case should be published, something that has not happened yet.

It is important that the leaders are as transparent as possible throughout this journey. A lot of public money is being committed to it. By and large there is a lot of public support for reopening the airport. But there are already warning signs as to the financial viability of DSA.

A report by York Aviation, on behalf of Leeds Bradford Airport, says the airport will “run at a loss for the foreseeable future” and more public money beyond an initial £105m will be required to keep it open.

While getting the airport up and running again is invariably going to cost, the potential is clearly there.

The fact that the Chancellor referred to the plans as “South Yorkshire Airport City”, suggests that the Government sees the wider regeneration potential beyond aviation that DSA presents.

The impact on the supply chain also needs to be measured.

There is wider scope for jobs ranging from research and development to hospitality.

It would be narrow-minded to measure the business case for DSA through the lens of just aviation.