'We don't know' - Mayor makes admission over freight plans for Doncaster Sheffield Airport

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) about her goals for 2026, Mayor Ros Jones said the return of freight and passenger flights rests with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Asked if she was still aiming for freight to return in Summer 2026, Mayor Jones said: “We don’t know.

"Until the CAA certifies us, we wait and see. I’m hoping it will be earlier, June or July. It is down to them, but we don’t know is the truth until they come forward and give us the air corridors.”

Mayor Jones also suggested it was possible that other airports could challenge the CAA if “they want the air corridors”.

“We need to go to the CAA and that will really decide what pans out,” she said.

The Mayor has previously expressed her belief that freight flights could return to Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) in the summer of 2026, with passenger flights to follow just over a year later in winter 2027/28.

Jones said DSA was “technically” already open, due to the business 2Excel operating flights from the airport.

Doncaster Council is going ahead with plans to reopen DSA with nearly £200million of taxpayer money, after full council voted to approve an additional £57m in borrowing in November 2025.

The extra money is said to be required to assist with cashflow issues with the authority’s gainshare funding from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, worth £6m annually.

Progressing the DSA project is just one of Jones’ goals for 2026, telling the LDRS she wanted to see the Health on the High Street scheme, the regeneration of Waterdale, the Waterfront East development and investment in Doncaster Markets all “get a momentum”.

“I want to see things move forward and delivering housing we need on different sites and I want to see the people of Doncaster being given chances of jobs and growth and I want businesses to thrive,” she listed.

A funding settlement with the Labour Government in Westminster will be analysed by council finance officials over the Christmas period.

In recent years, settlements with the Government have been yearly, however, Mayor Jones said this was about to change.

She said: “It’s hard being funded just year-on-year, but we will be told what our funding will be for the next three years. We have rising demands on adult and children’s social care and it’s 72-73 per cent of our budget.

“I want funding for adult and children’s social care, as well as the dedicated schools grant being sorted out by the Government as it’s a problem across the country. I want them to say they are taking away the DSG build-up.

“I would like to see the Government skewing the funding to the areas that still have to catch up.”

She discussed Mexborough as an example, which was receiving pots from numerous funding sources, including Levelling-Up funding confirmed under the previous Conservative government and Pride in Place funding recently revealed by the Labour Government.

The Mayor said the longer-term confidence gained through the three-year settlement would allow the council to do more.

She pointed to the Danum Gallery, Library and Museum (DGLAM) and the Wool Market as regeneration projects delivered “in times of austerity” with limited funding.

Jones and her team will begin putting together the council’s budget for the 2026/27 financial year in January, to be presented to full council in February 2026.

The budget is one of the few occasions when the opposition Reform UK, Conservative and Independent councillors could have significant impact.

Doncaster’s directly elected mayoral system means around 95 per cent of key decisions are made by the Mayor and her cabinet, with Reform UK’s large council majority wielding little to no power.