Doncaster Sheffield Airport: 'Significant sum' needed for rescue plan

Doncaster Council is looking to lease the airport from The Peel Group and find an operator to run it.

The council, which is aiming to finalise a deal by March 2024, said 15 operators have shown interest but some are concerned about the risks of reopening the airport and the “significant reinstatement costs”, as they will need to recruit staff and “restore essential infrastructure”.

At a meeting next week, council leaders are due to approve a business case for reopening Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) which states operators will be offered “loans or capital contributions” as an incentive to invest.

The council said it needs “a significant sum” from the £138m Gainshare fund promised to Doncaster as part of South Yorkshire’s devolution deal – but has not revealed how much it is requesting.

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) will provide the money if it approves the business case. It has already provided £3.1m for the council’s work on its airport rescue plan.

The council said it is keen to agree a deal with a new operator as the Civil Aviation Authority is considering plans to remove the site’s controlled airspace, which is required for commercial flights.

An assessment conducted by the council shows reopening the airport, which was shut in November 2022, could deliver a £2bn boost for the local economy and support 5,000 direct jobs.

“Whilst there remains, multiple risks associated with restarting the airport, the work undertaken to date suggests that reopening DSA is feasible and would bring significant economic benefits to Doncaster,” the council report stated.

“The overall objective of progressing the funding is to de-risk the project sufficiently to secure an airport operator.”

Reopening the airport is part of a wider programme known as South Yorkshire Airport City (SYAC), which promises to deliver “a cluster of high value economic activity” with a range of businesses that create around 16,500 new jobs.

The Peel Group closed DSA in November, claiming it had never made a profit due to a lack of passengers, despite more than £250m of investment. The shortage was exacerbated by Wizz Air’s decision to stop running flights and the pandemic.

DSA handled a record 1.4m passengers in 2019, but just 403,869 used the airport in the 12 months ending in March 2022. It also recorded an operating loss of £4.3m in that financial year.

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard had urged the company to keep the airport open and he set up meetings with investors interested in a takeover.

He also met with Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, who agreed a £40m deal to buy an airport from The Peel Group in 2018.

The airport, which was renamed Teesside International Airport, has struggled since being taken into public ownership as it recorded an overall loss of £11.9m in the year ending March 2022.