Liz Truss pledges to protect Doncaster Sheffield airport amid 'ticking clock' over closure

In her first Prime Minister's Questions after taking office on Tuesday, she said that regional airports are vital to economic growth, one of her key priorities which she outlined on the steps of 10 Downing Street.

Responding to a question by Nick Fletcher, the Don Valley MP in whose constituency the airport sits, she said “we will protect this airport and this infrastructure”.

She said she had already instructed Anne-Marie Trevelyan, her new Transport Secretary to begin talks with stakeholders.

Mr Fletcher told the Yorkshire Post that he was happy with Ms Truss’s intervention and that she went further in her commitment than he expected.

“It’s an extremely powerful statement. These meetings need to take place, as the clock is ticking,” he said.

Last month the airport’s owners, the Peel Group announced the consultation period for its had been extended to September 16.

Ms Truss’s intervention came alongside a commitment to levelling up, after she did not mention the policy in either of her first speeches as Tory leader and as Prime Minister earlier this week.

"I will as PM be absolutely focusing on levelling up and making sure we’re attracting investment and growth into this country that have been left behind so they have their share,” she told the House of Commons yesterday.

However, questions were raised on other promises made during the campaign, after Simon Lightwood, the Labour MP for Wakefield, wrote to Ms Truss to ask for clarity on her pledge to appoint a Minister for the North to her Cabinet.

Peel Group announced in July that Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) may no longer be commercially viable and it is carrying out a “review of strategic options”.

The investment group said it has “never achieved the critical mass required to become profitable", despite £250m of investment, and the passenger shortage had been exacerbated by Wizz Air’s decision to stop running flights from the airport and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Political leaders have been urging the airport’s bosses to keep the it open during a series of meetings, and South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard has offered them a £20m loan.

The mayor said "there is market interest" in the airport, but that the owners are reluctant to sell or lease it.

Mr Coppard has said he is concerned Peel are “simply dragging their feet and going through the motions” while “their real intention is to close the airport”.

It’s understood that before Ms Truss took office there was a meeting set up between Robert Courts, the aviation minister, and Peel, but that members of the South Yorkshire authority were not invited into the process.

There is another meeting due to be held next week.

It is unclear what intervention the Transport Secretary, or ministers in her department, are due to make over the potential closure of the airport.

The Department for Transport was contacted for comment.

Ms Truss’s commitment on levelling up is understood to be a policy she is wanting to pursue, but its importance has dwindled because of the current and incoming financial shocks that the economy is facing due to the energy crisis.

Today in Parliament Ms Truss is due to lay out her package to help families and businesses, in a move that is thought to cost around £90 billion, paid for by general taxation and borrowing.

“We will take action immediately to help people and businesses with bills but also take decisive action to tackle the root cause of these problems, so that we are not in this position again,” the Prime Minister said last night ahead of her announcement.