Doncaster Sheffield Airport a step closer to reopening
The secretary of state for transport Heidi Alexander has allowed the Civil Aviation Authority to decide on whether the airspace above the site can operate, meaning a lot less red tape and barriers.
Doncaster Council has agreed a 125-year lease of the airport from landowner Peel, and intends to have it up and running again in 2026 through its wholly-owned subsidiary Fly Doncaster.
It believes the airport could create more than 5,000 direct jobs and 6,500 indirect jobs, and could boost the economy by £6.6bn when fully operational.
Munich Airport International is strategic partner on the project, and will support the reestablishment of operations over a multi-year period.
Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, said: “This decision unlocks our ability to progress work with the Civil Aviation Authority to establish the most appropriate airspace for airlines and passengers.
“We are working with the Department for Transport and CAA to re-establish our airspace, this process will mirror other activities which need to be completed before the airport is once again ready to open.
“This is another step forward towards reopening our airport.”
South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “This decision paves the way for the CAA to make a decision more quickly than if the Secretary of State were to further delay that decision. We now expect the CAA to quickly lay out their approach.
“Whatever that decision – either to restore or reshape our airspace – in conversations with the CAA and the Department for Transport over recent weeks, we have been assured repeatedly that decisions about the airspace will not delay our plans for DSA. So this is another step forward.
“Later this year we will take a final decision about the funding for the airport and the wider Gateway East project. The work to fully understand the commercial, financial and wider infrastructure needs of the whole project is moving forward at pace and I have no reason to believe we will not take a positive decision this summer.”
This is amazing the airport was brilliant and has been really missed.Thank you for all your hard work in getting it OPEN again.👍
By England Family
Always loved this airport it can’t reopen soon enough in my opinion
By Anonymous
Pie in the Sky ( excuse the pun). The 5000 direct jobs would be more than all other airports in the North combined! It was always a mystery how the airport before closing was said to employ 800 people. Doing what exactly? No wonder it went bust!
By Egghead
Can’t wait for this airport to be up and running, have really missed it, hope it flies to Tunisia all year round, good news for job hunters, 🤞
By Anonymous
To gain global recognition and international routes: rename it Sheffield Airport or Sheffield (Doncaster) Airport if must be. (or Joe Cocker Airport: as he is from Sheffield. Joke!)
By Anonymous
With economic ignorance many such projects are evaluated on a “Business Case”, as is they were Private Enterprise with profit and loss bookkeeping. The wider economic benefit is ignored. It is akin to closing down a central city rail station because it makes an annual 100 pound loss, without considering the knock-on impact on the surrounding economic community. Total ignorance of National Economics.
By Anonymous