Sheffield City Airport

[News Guru]

[textarea]Last ditch bid to save Sheffield city airport

SMALL businesses in the region are making a last-ditch attempt to save Sheffield City Airport.

Even though the airport at Tinsley Park closed four years ago, and its runway is due to be ripped up to make way for an extension to Sheffield Business Park, they say a local airport is needed more than ever because of the growing business community between the city and Rotherham.

Once the runway is lost and the site redeveloped, “all hope of a facility in Sheffield for reaching the major European centres, giving access to the strategically important customers, suppliers and partners of western Europe, will be lost”, said Gordon Millward, regional chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses.

Full Story: http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/new ... -1-5041423[/textarea]

 

[pug]

Lets hope it is given a second chance, however unlikely that may be.

 

[Seasider]

I think that they have as much chance of reopening Sheffield City as I have flying on Corcorde.

 

[Aviador]

It's sad to say but I think you're probably right. Had the airport developed in the way they originally planned it to with a runway extension, I think it would have faired far better than both DSA and LBA.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Similar moves to try to re-open Plymouth Airport with tens of thousands signing a petition and business people, politicians and the general public demanding that Plymouth has an airport.

If half these people had used it regularly when it was open they might still have it.

 

[pug]

Similar moves to try to re-open Plymouth Airport with tens of thousands signing a petition and business people, politicians and the general public demanding that Plymouth has an airport.

If half these people had used it regularly when it was open they might still have it

I dont think it was a case of people not wanting to use SZD (and voting with their feet), as it was with a temporary lull after 9/11. The reduction in fire cover as soon as Peel took over was ever going to allow for commercial flights to resume.

Airports, as with most infrastructure assets, are long-term investments. SZD, as a commercial airport, was not given a chance. Much has been said of the short runway which seems to be the general consensus in Sheffield, however it had the capacity and capability of connecting Sheffield with a number of European hubs, something DSA has failed to do thus far. This may change now FARRRS has been given the go ahead, however that remains to be seen and is open to debate. I just think that SZD offered the Sheffield business passenger more than DSA can over airports like MAN and LHR, and surely a small city aiport offering frequent flights to key European centres would be more of a benefit to the regional economy than an airport whose sole passenger maket focusses on the leisure side.

I think this latest, and probably last push will be in vain, but there may be a small chance of the business community actually being heard.

 

[rmac]

I have to agree with Pug and it would now seem with hindsight that allowing SZD to gradually develop perhaps providing the city with a small but useful airport and allowing some domestic and possibly international destinations, i.e AMS. to serve the city. Some light business traffic might have been attracted too. Instead DSA was promoted, much cash being poured into the project and at the time the prediction it would soon overtake LBA. The result seems to be that a possible good local business airport on the doorstep of Sheffield has been lost, Humberside's development has been hampered and DSA's future far from certain. LBA has gone from strength to strength.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I dont think it was a case of people not wanting to use SZD (and voting with their feet), as it was with a temporary lull after 9/11

I was talking about PLH when I said that if people had used it in the way they now say they want it the airport might still be open.

From what you say it sounds as though the Sheffield situation was different though the result was the same - closed airports.

 

[pug]

Of course, these 'city' airports have one thing in common, that they sit on prime development land.

I'm not really sure the exact details of the PLH situation, however I know its relatively isolated as far as the rail and road network goes. The thing I think with Sheffield is that it is relatively easy to hop across to MAN, and therefore the conveniance of DSA is outweighed by the choice at MAN. SZD being in a cental location was different, and even after essentials such as fire cover was reduced I believe it was still well used by business jets.

 

[smith368]

As an ex worker at SZD/EGSY I would like to see the airport reopen and once again welcome flying schools and other aviation businesses back like TAMS who did pipeline contracts and aircraft engineering and also the business jets that came in bringing in people for meetings in the region or taking people from the region to meetings and as I seen before holidays (wish I had that money) I spent many happy years in that airport working for the many businesses there in Flight Operations and Ground Crew.

There are many young people I know enthusiastic about working in aviation and DSA doesn't seem to be giving much chance at the moment. SZD was a fantastic airport and I seen many open days and summer days of people passing through with aircraft visiting family and friends and also people coming up to just have a look at the airport and aircraft, DSA charges will be considerably more than what SZD and Peel didn't seem too bothered with it and let it go, someone needs to get their hands on the site and develop it to its former glory of a regional airport if not for commercial the private and business aviation.

 

[mk8]

It's closure is quite amazing, especially so after the results of a new study by the Airport Operators Association, which states that [all] airports are going to help the Country come out of recession!
Toronto City Airport (a la Sheffield City), state that it's existence contribute $2 billion to the local economy. Also London City has nearly 2 million passengers a year!
Not saying that Sheffield City can emulate these figures but; "Every little helps", especially so in the present climate!
Good luck to the Federation of Small Businesses.

 

[Aviador]

I don't know if that's just a typo but London City is nearer the 3 million passenger mark as opposed to 2 million.

Unlike Doncaster airport Shefield City is (was) more centrally located and was more of a threat to neighbouring airports EMA, LBA and MAN.

 

[pug]

Of course its not just about passenger flights, but having a top GA facility only a couple of miles from the centre of Sheffield would surely have positive wider benefits, particularly one that can handle biz jets.

 

[Aviador]

There are plenty of other suitable locations to build a business park. It's just wrong to dig up a nearly new runway. Surely the business case that put the runway there in the first place stands for something?

 

[pug]

Well with KLM having now announced flights from MSE, SZD would have been in a perfect position to attract them. There may be a market there for the likes of Eastern too, and Aer Arrann with their partnership with Aer Lingus.

Its good to see that the petition already has over 25% of required signatures. Not too sure whether there is anything that can be done now though?

 

[White Heather]

Lets not forget that when it was open, Sheffield City had several flights a day to AMS with KLM and they were pulled due to poor loads on their F50's. BA Regional operated Jetstream 41's quite successfully to some routes, but I still seem to recall that the likes of Belfast and Dublin also failed, and eventually London City. Few British airlines now, other than Eastern, have suitable equipment to make a go of Sheffield if it re-opened - there are no Shorts 360's now for example and they were frequently used out of Sheffield. The only jets regularly seen at Sheffield were BAe146's and they too and now few and far between, so although it is a shame for the airport and for Sheffield, personally I think that the restrictions facing Sheffield meant that even though it could be very useful for the Cities of Sheffield and Rotherham, airlines would be difficult to attract.

As for a runway extension, there is no room there to build one that would make sufficient difference as the ground falls away to the North towards Attercliffe Road and Meadowhall, and to the South beyond Sheffield Parkway into a valley. To the East is the M1 and to the West what looks like a large steel works.

 

[pug]

I dont think loads were poor on the SZD-AMS, more that at the time it got chopped KLM were restructuring and made a number of cuts across its UK network and unfortunately SZD (and I think EMA?) were pulled. SZD is capable of handling the F70 I believe. I dont think a modest expansion/extension of facilities would be out of the question either.

However its not just about passenger flights, but the ability to bring a business jet into the centre of Sheffield must be quite attractive to potential investors in the city.

 

[Aviador]

I'm sure somebody once posted some old plans to expand Sheffield City airport which included a runway and terminal extension comparable with LBA.

 

[mk8]

The only route that was pulled due to low take up, was London City. The KLM & BA/Brymon routes were pulled to reorganisations by the airlines. The Dublin route was so busy it was difficult to get a flight.
There is ample room for starter strips which were recommended by York Aviation & the management were set to go ahead. However the owners of Doncaster's Airport bought into SZD & as they say, "the rest is history"!

 

[lysander]

As a long term activist, who has thoroughly researched the whole subject and even addressed the European Parliament to protest about closure, I think I can add a few points to the debate.
1) The airport was never expected to make any financial return for at least seven years.
2) The associated Business Park , built on 42 acres of land GIVEN to the developer in exchange for building and running the airport, was meant to maintain, out of its profits, an operating subsidy of £850,000 for the airport.
3) The total of 120 acres of land which is devoted to the airport and Business Park was either given by British Steel, on the understanding that an operational airport would be built ,or acquired by the Sheffield Development Corporation ...using Public Funding. The land needed an additional £1 million in public money spending on it after an earlier , failed, Private developer had gone bust after extracting all the coal and leaving it unfit for development!
4) The EU spent £3million on a spine road and the Developer claimed the Airport had cost £6 million. Masses of public funding has never been spent on the project!
5) An agreement ( the MOU) between Peel, Tinsley Park and Sheffield Council, signed on 31st July 2001, sealed the fate of SZD after just over 3 years from it's first commercial flight. It was to be sacrificed for Finningley...with the promise of "better services"...which, if you are a business traveller have never materialised...unless you trade with Poland!
6) The original plan had been for a slow and careful build up of traffic using small 30 seater aircraft. Holiday charter traffic and its use by lo-cos were never intended.
7)Fire cover and the ILS were removed in a short space of time after the signing of the MOU, effectively preventing its use by commercial airliners. This did not prevent its succesful use by GA and biz-jets and, in May 2007 it reached 1,763 movements.
8) The sole grounds for closure, according to the Lease, was financial non-viability...Such figures as were provided, "justifying" this, were never independently assessed...as the Lease demanded, and as the Audit Commission commented upon in criticising the Council for its handling of financial matters...nor were any of the other safeguards contained within the Lease used.

The land was transferred for a £1.00 ( which was never paid). Sheffield Business Parks (Phase2) Ltd has outline planning consent for redevelopment and HMG has washed its hands of the affair...passing it onto Sheffield City Council. That's where the FSB have come in. They are trying, desperately, to at least stop development until a fresh assessment is made...the last one being known to have contained errors of fact and of interpretation of data.