Doncaster Sheffield Airport has remained eerily still since it was forced to close in 2022, when its previous owner, Peel Group, declared it financially unviable to continue operating. The Yorkshire hub once offered connections to popular European holiday destinations including Alicante, Amsterdam, Budapest, Dublin, Palma and Paphos, served by Wizz Air, TUI and Ryanair.
For four years, the airport has appeared frozen in time, with abandoned check-in desks, shops with bare shelves, stationary baggage carousels and hauntingly silent departure lounges. The usual airport soundtrack of rattling luggage, clattering security trays and humming baggage belts has been replaced by an unsettling quiet.
Plans to bring the airport back to life
There is hope on the horizon, with a £160 million investment backing plans to revive the airport, and passenger flights could potentially resume as early as 2028. For now, it remains a ghost of its former self while a definitive decision on its fate is still pending.
There are also plans for the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) to purchase Doncaster Airport, becoming the freehold owner and landlord under the City of Doncaster Council's lease. The prospect of the airport coming under public ownership has been hailed as a "major win".
Reopening project underway
Director at Doncaster Sheffield Airport, Christian Foster, commented: "With plans progressing to bring the land the airport sits on into public ownership, we have a clear view of what the future looks like. That will further accelerate the discussions we’ve been having with airlines and freight operators, and it means that we should be seeing flights taking off and landing next year: first freight, and then passenger flights (currently on target for Spring 2028)."
Foster also shared: "This has probably been one of the quickest reopening projects that an airport has ever gone through. Over the coming months, we’ll be undertaking a full terminal refurbishment and installing the latest security equipment we need to have in place."
He added: "We’ve made incredible progress over the past year, but we’re even more excited about what’s to come. Reopening an airport isn’t as easy as turning up and switching the lights on. Here at Doncaster Sheffield Airport, we had to basically start again from scratch. That means reassessing all of the tech and infrastructure and renewing conversations with airlines and potential users of the airport."
The exact details of the planned proposal are set to be confirmed, with the first freight flights expected next year and passenger flights targeted for Spring 2028.
