Doncaster Sheffield Airport, which has been abandoned for four years, has reached a 'major milestone' in its £160 million reopening plan, with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) set to purchase the site and bring it under public ownership.
The airport was forced to close in 2022 after its former owner, Peel Group, said it was no longer financially viable to continue operating. The closure was a blow to travellers, particularly locals, who could fly to destinations such as Alicante, Palma, Amsterdam, Budapest, Dublin and Paphos via Wizz Air, TUI or Ryanair.
Plans for Public Ownership
Under the new proposal, SYMCA plans to buy Doncaster Airport, becoming the freehold owner and landlord under the City of Doncaster Council's lease. The exact details of the proposal and its approval are set to be discussed next week, but the update has been hailed as a "major win".
Doncaster mayor Ros Jones said: "This partnership proposal to bring the airport into public ownership is a major win for Doncaster and South Yorkshire. I pressed this proposal back in 2022 and the landowner declined. We are now in a different place and a different time. This proposal will end our lease with the current landowner. As a council, we need to enter into a contractual arrangement with SYMCA to agree how this progresses in a phased approach. The meeting of cabinet next week will take the decisions the council needs for this to take place."
Reopening Timeline
Previous reports estimate that the airport could reopen with flights available for passengers during the winter 2027-28 season, following the £160 million project. Currently, the airport stands abandoned until a final decision is made about its future, but the latest update has sparked excitement.
South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard said the deal was a "major milestone". He added: "I’m delighted to say that subject to formal approval of the MCA board next week and then Peel, we’ve agreed a deal that means we’re taking Doncaster Sheffield Airport and adjacent Innovation Quarter employment land into public ownership.
"This is a deal that puts the future of DSA back in our hands and finally gives one of the biggest and best growth opportunities in South Yorkshire the platform for long-term success that it needs and deserves. Four years ago, we were told that our airport would be closing. But alongside Ros Jones, I said I would do anything I could to save DSA, and I meant it."
Coppard continued: "Which is why after months of negotiations and the growing flexibility afforded to us by the government’s devolution agenda, today we can announce that we have come to an agreement for SYMCA to buy the airport and Innovation Quarter employment land from Peel. Subject to the agreement of the MCA board next week, the airport and surrounding Innovation Quarter employment land will be owned and controlled by us, for us; the people of South Yorkshire. This deal means our future will be in our own hands again.
"When the airport closed, almost everything was against us; the owners did not want to sell, we had no legal powers to intervene or stop the airport from closing, and no backing from the government at the time. Today, the future for DSA is bright, with the airport back in our hands, the sky’s the limit."
