Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Mayor releases statement on reopening plans with new update

The airport, also known as Robin Hood Airport, is based in Finningley near Doncaster and was first opened to travellers on April 28, 2005, initially operated by Peel Airports, a division of The Peel Group. It is one of only two commercial international airports in Yorkshire, along with Leeds Bradford Airport.

During the First World War it was used as a base by the Royal Flying Corps and in the Second World War the airfield was mainly used for training purposes. At that time it served as a finishing school for new crews of the aircraft in Bomber Command.

Within its first year, Doncaster Sheffield Airport served 899,000 travellers almost making its target of at least a million of passengers, making it the 23rd largest airport in the UK at the time and by August 2007, the new airport had assisted 2.28 million passengers. The airport’s first commercial flight flew to Palma de Mallorca in Majorca and departed from Robin Hood Airport at 9.15am on April 28, 2005.

In 2016, the airport’s name was changed from Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield to Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA). In June 2022, Wizz Air announced that it would terminate the majority of its flights from the airport as the airport operators were ‘unable to guarantee the terms of its commercial agreement.

On September 26, it was announced that the airport would be closing.

Now, Mayor Ros Jones has provided an update to full council.

Mayor Jones said she would keep “councillors, residents and businesses updated with progress as we work to see planes flying from Doncaster once again”.

The statement in full reads: “As per plan, we are continuing with our due diligence, legal process and financial checks including Public Subsidy controls.

“We now have a new government, which has meant new ministers to brief, and this has ultimately added a few weeks to our schedule as we weren’t expecting the General Election until October or November. Nevertheless, work continues at pace on a number of fronts. The procurement of an operator is in its final stages of due diligence, we have regular meetings with investors, businesses and airlines. This final phase is about pulling it all together.

“We have submitted a Statement of Need to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in relation to re-establishing our airspace, this will soon be publicly available via the CAA website, I cannot emphasise enough the importance of retaining our airspace, our MPs continue to engage with the Aviation Minister in relation to this.

“Of course, I will continue to keep councillors, residents and businesses updated with progress as we work to see planes flying from Doncaster once again. Thank you.”

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