A new airport.... South Yorkshire Airport City?

Doncaster Sheffield Airport Strategic Review Announcement​

Forums4airports discusses the latest press release from Doncaster Sheffield airport where the airport questions the future of the airport. The owners of the airport, the Peel Group have announced they are looking at their options as the group has decided the airport is no longer viable as an operational airport. Here's the press release:

"The Board of Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) has begun a review of strategic options for the Airport. This review follows lengthy deliberations by the Board of DSA which has reluctantly concluded that aviation activity on the site may no longer be commercially viable.

DSA’s owner, the Peel Group, as the Airport’s principal funder, has reviewed the conclusions of the Board of DSA and commissioned external independent advice in order to evaluate and test the conclusions drawn, which concurs with the Board’s initial findings.

Since the Peel Group acquired the Airport site in 1999 and converted it into an international commercial airport, which opened in 2005, significant amounts have been invested in the terminal, the airfield and its operations, both in relation to the original conversion and subsequently to improve the facilities and infrastructure on offer to create an award winning airport.

However, despite growth in passenger numbers, DSA has never achieved the critical mass required to become profitable and this fundamental issue of a shortfall in passenger numbers is exacerbated by the announcement on 10 June 2022 of the unilateral withdrawal of the Wizz Air based aircraft, leaving the Airport with only one base carrier, namely TUI.

This challenge has been increased by other changes in the aviation market, the well-publicised impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and increasingly important environmental considerations. It has therefore been concluded that aviation activity may no longer be the use for the site which delivers the maximum economic and environmental benefit to the region. Against this backdrop, DSA and the Peel Group, will initiate a consultation and engagement programme with stakeholders on the future of the site and how best to maximise and capitalise on future economic growth opportunities for Doncaster and the wider Sheffield City Region.

The wider Peel Group is already delivering significant development and business opportunities on its adjoining GatewayEast development including the recent deal for over 400,000 sq ft logistics and advanced manufacturing development on site, creating hundreds of new jobs and delivering further economic investment in the region.

Robert Hough, Chairman of Peel Airports Group, which includes Doncaster Sheffield Airport, said: “It is a critical time for aviation globally. Despite pandemic related travel restrictions slowly drawing to a close, we are still facing ongoing obstacles and dynamic long-term threats to the future of the aviation industry. The actions by Wizz to sacrifice its base at Doncaster to shore up its business opportunities at other bases in the South of England are a significant blow for the Airport.

Now is the right time to review how DSA can best create future growth opportunities for Doncaster and for South Yorkshire. The Peel Group remains committed to delivering economic growth, job opportunities and prosperity for Doncaster and the wider region.”

DSA and the Peel Group pride themselves on being forward-thinking whilst prioritising the welfare of staff and customers alike. As such, no further public comments will be made whilst they undertake this engagement period with all stakeholders.
During the Strategic Review, the Airport will operate as normal. Therefore passengers who are due to travel to the airport, please arrive and check in as normal. If there are any disruptions with your flight, you will be contacted by your airline in good time.
For all press enquiries, please contact Charlotte Leach at [email protected]."

"Not great news for DSA or the region"

Should the government or local council foot the bill and provide a financial subsidy to keep the airport open, thoughts...?

 

What do those words actually mean though? Seems they’re designed to fluff and nothing more.

How many of those projected 5000 jobs and the estimated £5bn cumulative uplift is predicated on an airport being there and how much is based around Gateway East that will happen anyway?

Best case scenario the airport secure at least one based airline (possibly Jet2) and maybe even manage to get KLM in somehow. That’s not going to generate the airport dependant employment to the scale that the council are projecting. The SAU asked for clarity on this, so I assume the council will be consulting someone to come up with a suitable answer because so far none have been forthcoming.

The airport under Peel employed something like 170 people directly. If MAI are to have serious hands on involvement I don’t envisage a business as usual approach. Something will have to change compared to how things were before, at least initially.

On a return of 9:1 that would assume that £1.3bn will be generated over the period of the investment based on £145million. Do the sums add up? Don’t seem to.

I can only conclude that CDC believe the airport will be a major hub and a contender with the major London airports based on those cumulative projections. But the likelihood of that ever being realised aside. the sums still don’t add up..

They mention the 130,000 strong petition. Can’t argue with that, but how many of those people put their name to something thinking that there was serious private sector interest in it and may have changed their minds? Who is to say the airlines that may have expressed an interest actually agree to terms when they’re on offer? What happens when the next downturn occurs? Things are great now, but they won’t always be!

I challenged the former Head of Business Doncaster on projected passenger numbers and other forecasts previously on LinkedIn….He told me that there was no reason why Doncaster couldn’t be equal to Stansted in terms of passenger numbers and size……He completely missed the point that the two markets are totally different and that there just isn’t the market demand for an airport of that size….Unfortunately that’s the kind of thinking behind a lot of what’s going on in CDC.
As to jet2 - I’d expect even if they did look to open some sort of operation at DSA it would be very small scale unless they chose to consolidate their ops from either EMA or LBA. Unlikely…
On TUI one route that will definitely not be returning is the Florida connection. TUI have recently started pulling the destination from regional airports including Birmingham….

 

I challenged the former Head of Business Doncaster on projected passenger numbers and other forecasts previously on LinkedIn….He told me that there was no reason why Doncaster couldn’t be equal to Stansted in terms of passenger numbers and size……He completely missed the point that the two markets are totally different and that there just isn’t the market demand for an airport of that size….Unfortunately that’s the kind of thinking behind a lot of what’s going on in CDC.

Delusions of grandeur. City status has gone to their head.

 

I challenged the former Head of Business Doncaster on projected passenger numbers and other forecasts previously on LinkedIn….He told me that there was no reason why Doncaster couldn’t be equal to Stansted in terms of passenger numbers and size……He completely missed the point that the two markets are totally different and that there just isn’t the market demand for an airport of that size….Unfortunately that’s the kind of thinking behind a lot of what’s going on in CDC.

But are these the forecasts of FlyDoncaster? We’ve seen all sorts of fanciful claims surrounding the size of the runway and the proximity of the motorways and the ECML, but as far as I can tell no passenger or freight throughput predictions have actually been made public other than some vague mention in the SAU report which highlights that their projections are higher than the peak value achieved in the 17 years of previous operations.

So are the projections grounded in a more achievable scenario and therefore more likely to pass independent scrutiny that OC claims is going to happen? Or are they really claiming that DSA has the potential of being a major hub for passengers and freight? I note freight has played a much reduced part of the most recent scant announcements, in fact it appears to be barely mentioned.

MAI will undoubtedly have connections to airlines. However Munich Airport itself barely has any you could call a shoe in in the uk market. Easyjet run a few core routes to large markets, Norwegian also have one or two routes. Lufthansa just doesn’t seem likely. Eurowings have the usual German links you’d expect, even TUIfly don’t really do much from there. So I can’t see any synergies that would help in their endeavours to attract traffic.

I suspect that at least one airline has expressed an interest in possibly operating from a reopened DSA. One of those I think will be Jet2 because of the way the airline has grown and because Philip Meeson is no longer involved. I’m not suggesting they will fly from DSA, but any interest they may have expressed will have been taken as granted by a naive council that are steadfast that the airport can and will be a success. FP Airports have no airline connections, they still keep being mentioned as a UK sector specialist, there are many others I’d rather have fighting my case than them.

 

I challenged the former Head of Business Doncaster on projected passenger numbers and other forecasts previously on LinkedIn….He told me that there was no reason why Doncaster couldn’t be equal to Stansted in terms of passenger numbers and size……He completely missed the point that the two markets are totally different and that there just isn’t the market demand for an airport of that size….Unfortunately that’s the kind of thinking behind a lot of what’s going on in CDC.
As to jet2 - I’d expect even if they did look to open some sort of operation at DSA it would be very small scale unless they chose to consolidate their ops from either EMA or LBA. Unlikely…
On TUI one route that will definitely not be returning is the Florida connection. TUI have recently started pulling the destination from regional airports including Birmingham….

TBF that was a crazy comment from someone utterly clueless in regards to rivaling Stansted number wise, these people really should be keeping quiet they make themselves look daft.

I really can't fathom what some people think a small regional airport base should look like it is only going to be a handful of aircraft that is why they are small regional airports people can rip DSA to pieces but TUI whatever terms they had before had a decent sized base for a small airport yes no competion but no airline is putting 6-7 or 8 aircraft into airports like DSA was or the likes of Bournemouth or Cardiff just doesn't happen I can't personally see how DSA can attract any more than 6/7 based aircraft from a mix of TUI/Jet 2 if reopened in the summer season and that would be a big increase on what TUI were offering the year it closed when they had a mix of part 4 and part 5 weekly with the dreamliner too. TUI could do something similar to before possibly Jet 2 put 2/3 aircraft in but would they both fill planes but then what after that some really crazy stuff being dreamed up by CDC .

On a seperate note anyone would think this money was growing on tree's by the shed full way it's being handed out crackers.

 

just to make clear they are making projections for 2050

The FBC highlights the scale of economic growth potential should the opportunity be realised: over 5,000 gross direct jobs by 2050; GVA uplift of £5bn (cumulatively by 2050); gross welfare benefits (cumulatively by 2050) of £2bn; a project benefit cost ratio of 9:1; and a region in the vanguard of the next technological revolution, building on core regional capabilities, and reconnected by air to global markets.

I asked AI the generic question, what is the average employment associated with an airport? So one can assume on site and off site employment rolls are included into the figures provided.

For a **medium-sized airport** handling around **5-10 million passengers annually**, the estimated direct employment is typically **1,000 to 5,000 jobs**. This includes roles in airlines, ground handling, security, retail, maintenance, and administration.

For a **large international airport** handling **50+ million passengers annually**, direct employment can range from **20,000 to 50,000 jobs**, depending on the scale of operations.

Smaller regional airports may employ **100 to 500 people** directly.

These are rough estimates and can vary based on the airport's specific operations and services.

So clearly the FBC report is using the top end figures in their reporting and based on a successful operation even at the low end. How on earth that can possibly be achieved even at the low end is beyond me when an airport operator failed throughout its entire 20 year lifespan of being open previously.

 

I asked AI the generic question, what is the average employment associated with an airport? So one can assume on site and off site employment rolls are included into the figures provided.

For a **medium-sized airport** handling around **5-10 million passengers annually**, the estimated direct employment is typically **1,000 to 5,000 jobs**. This includes roles in airlines, ground handling, security, retail, maintenance, and administration.

For a **large international airport** handling **50+ million passengers annually**, direct employment can range from **20,000 to 50,000 jobs**, depending on the scale of operations.

Smaller regional airports may employ **100 to 500 people** directly.

These are rough estimates and can vary based on the airport's specific operations and services.

So clearly the FBC report is using the top end figures in their reporting and based on a successful operation even at the low end. How on earth that can possibly be achieved even at the low end is beyond me when an airport operator failed throughout its entire 20 year lifespan of being open previously.

Thanks Aviador. This is why the SAU have asked where the distinctions between the Airport and Gateway East lie. Because South Yorkshire Airport City encompasses both but the ROI appears to be based on the employment of people in warehouses and as part of the ‘new industrial revolution’ where an airport on the site isn’t required.

As there are no known aviation sector advanced manufacturing firms apparently interested, how are the two supposedly interlinked? I’d be interested to see how they can provide a strong answer to this. It’s all based on hope and hope is not a strategy hence no private sector finance.

Anyone notice there hasn’t been much mention of Hybrid Air Vehicles recently? I heard things there aren’t exactly rosy…

 

just to make clear they are making projections for 2050

The FBC highlights the scale of economic growth potential should the opportunity be realised: over 5,000 gross direct jobs by 2050; GVA uplift of £5bn (cumulatively by 2050); gross welfare benefits (cumulatively by 2050) of £2bn; a project benefit cost ratio of 9:1; and a region in the vanguard of the next technological revolution, building on core regional capabilities, and reconnected by air to global markets.

Glad you understand it - I don't fully. I didn't realise the FBC was in the public domain - only the bits that 'escaped' in the SAU report and the 'spin' that they want folk to hear? Whilst the job creation benefit - this of course is Gateway East? - is positive the airport itself will create far far fewer jobs and as for the connection by air to Global markets - being realistic (other than perhaps ad hock freight) - I doubt such markets exist in Majorca or Benidorm. Being objective (although I am an enthusiast) I do not see why they need the financial millstone of the airport - they could surely unlock other developments without it??.

 

TBF that was a crazy comment from someone utterly clueless in regards to rivaling Stansted number wise, these people really should be keeping quiet they make themselves look daft.

I really can't fathom what some people think a small regional airport base should look like it is only going to be a handful of aircraft that is why they are small regional airports people can rip DSA to pieces but TUI whatever terms they had before had a decent sized base for a small airport yes no competion but no airline is putting 6-7 or 8 aircraft into airports like DSA was or the likes of Bournemouth or Cardiff just doesn't happen I can't personally see how DSA can attract any more than 6/7 based aircraft from a mix of TUI/Jet 2 if reopened in the summer season and that would be a big increase on what TUI were offering the year it closed when they had a mix of part 4 and part 5 weekly with the dreamliner too. TUI could do something similar to before possibly Jet 2 put 2/3 aircraft in but would they both fill planes but then what after that some really crazy stuff being dreamed up by CDC .

On a seperate note anyone would think this money was growing on tree's by the shed full way it's being handed out crackers.

Not sure what deal TUI had with Peel but it was clearly a long term one benefitting both parties. I’m not totally convinced about TUI coming back in the same way for a couple of reasons.

They first launched as part of their short lived Thomsonfly low cost arm. This was later absorbed into their core business and DSA inherited that as their core Yorkshire departure point. Things have changed since then and I’m not sure the aircraft are readily available at this time. They may want to start with infrequent W patterns?

If Jet2 are interested then I doubt TUI would be as keen. TUI generated the market but that was based on them being the only major tour operator at the airport. Jet2 would sew that up. Lots of people mentioned Ryanair as a possibility due to TUI taking capacity on their flights, but with the recent statement from MoL that now seems unlikely.

I still think that if there was genuine demand then easyJet would have exploited it. The previous operators would have welcomed them with open arms and lots of financial incentives. That would have saved the airport and provided the crucial footfall to see that the airport would be financially sustainable. But they didn’t, they put one aircraft in as part of a Peel Deal that failed to generate enough interest and lasted only 7 months or so. People just ignore this, so I wonder whether things at easyjet have changed enough so to see that they’d take a fresh look at it now?

 

But are these the forecasts of FlyDoncaster? We’ve seen all sorts of fanciful claims surrounding the size of the runway and the proximity of the motorways and the ECML, but as far as I can tell no passenger or freight throughput predictions have actually been made public other than some vague mention in the SAU report which highlights that their projections are higher than the peak value achieved in the 17 years of previous operations.

So are the projections grounded in a more achievable scenario and therefore more likely to pass independent scrutiny that OC claims is going to happen? Or are they really claiming that DSA has the potential of being a major hub for passengers and freight? I note freight has played a much reduced part of the most recent scant announcements, in fact it appears to be barely mentioned.

MAI will undoubtedly have connections to airlines. However Munich Airport itself barely has any you could call a shoe in in the uk market. Easyjet run a few core routes to large markets, Norwegian also have one or two routes. Lufthansa just doesn’t seem likely. Eurowings have the usual German links you’d expect, even TUIfly don’t really do much from there. So I can’t see any synergies that would help in their endeavours to attract traffic.

I suspect that at least one airline has expressed an interest in possibly operating from a reopened DSA. One of those I think will be Jet2 because of the way the airline has grown and because Philip Meeson is no longer involved. I’m not suggesting they will fly from DSA, but any interest they may have expressed will have been taken as granted by a naive council that are steadfast that the airport can and will be a success. FP Airports have no airline connections, they still keep being mentioned as a UK sector specialist, there are many others I’d rather have fighting my case than them.

I’d very much doubt those will be the predictions in the BC, although who really knows? It’s more that it’s the kind of fanciful thinking which is behind CDC….he really was adamant in the next 20/30 years that’s where DSA will be….

 

Not sure what deal TUI had with Peel but it was clearly a long term one benefitting both parties. I’m not totally convinced about TUI coming back in the same way for a couple of reasons.

They first launched as part of their short lived Thomsonfly low cost arm. This was later absorbed into their core business and DSA inherited that as their core Yorkshire departure point. Things have changed since then and I’m not sure the aircraft are readily available at this time. They may want to start with infrequent W patterns?

If Jet2 are interested then I doubt TUI would be as keen. TUI generated the market but that was based on them being the only major tour operator at the airport. Jet2 would sew that up. Lots of people mentioned Ryanair as a possibility due to TUI taking capacity on their flights, but with the recent statement from MoL that now seems unlikely.

I still think that if there was genuine demand then easyJet would have exploited it. The previous operators would have welcomed them with open arms and lots of financial incentives. That would have saved the airport and provided the crucial footfall to see that the airport would be financially sustainable. But they didn’t, they put one aircraft in as part of a Peel Deal that failed to generate enough interest and lasted only 7 months or so. People just ignore this, so I wonder whether things at easyjet have changed enough so to see that they’d take a fresh look at it now?

Not sure what deal TUI had with Peel but it was clearly a long term one benefitting both parties. I’m not totally convinced about TUI coming back in the same way for a couple of reasons.

They first launched as part of their short lived Thomsonfly low cost arm. This was later absorbed into their core business and DSA inherited that as their core Yorkshire departure point. Things have changed since then and I’m not sure the aircraft are readily available at this time. They may want to start with infrequent W patterns?

If Jet2 are interested then I doubt TUI would be as keen. TUI generated the market but that was based on them being the only major tour operator at the airport. Jet2 would sew that up. Lots of people mentioned Ryanair as a possibility due to TUI taking capacity on their flights, but with the recent statement from MoL that now seems unlikely.

I still think that if there was genuine demand then easyJet would have exploited it. The previous operators would have welcomed them with open arms and lots of financial incentives. That would have saved the airport and provided the crucial footfall to see that the airport would be financially sustainable. But they didn’t, they put one aircraft in as part of a Peel Deal that failed to generate enough interest and lasted only 7 months or so. People just ignore this, so I wonder whether things at easyjet have changed enough so to see that they’d take a fresh look at it now?

Re the mention of TUI - it is reported that one of the TUI Superstores is telling folk that all routes/aircraft are allocated for 2026 and there will be no offer from DSA. At risk of incurring the wrath of the baying mob I think it confirms what those in/associated with the industry on here know already but up to now would not wish to post. It is not just a case I'm sure of getting the airfield licensed by Spring next year - which on the face of it seems difficult anyway, but giving airlines time to formulate their plans once that happens as I doubt that they will put out a programme 'on spec' and risk having to cancel if the tight timescale is not met. Clearly nothing is 'nailed on' - 2027 might seem a more realistic proposition for a consistent operation?

 

Re the mention of TUI - it is reported that one of the TUI Superstores is telling folk that all routes/aircraft are allocated for 2026 and there will be no offer from DSA. At risk of incurring the wrath of the baying mob I think it confirms what those in/associated with the industry on here know already but up to now would not wish to post. It is not just a case I'm sure of getting the airfield licensed by Spring next year - which on the face of it seems difficult anyway, but giving airlines time to formulate their plans once that happens as I doubt that they will put out a programme 'on spec' and risk having to cancel if the tight timescale is not met. Clearly nothing is 'nailed on' - 2027 might seem a more realistic proposition for a consistent operation?

Yes I’m not sure who has advised Ros Jones that Spring 2026 is a realistic timescale, I suspect there is some politicking going on with that. The language has changed on that too, judging by what was said at SYMCA board on Tuesday.

If they can formalise the Gainshare ‘in summer’ and are well on the way to gaining all the necessary approvals then a Spring 26 opening would be possible, however it might open to very little commercial traffic because, depending on how late in the day they are able to commit to a date, airlines will airway gave allocated resources elsewhere. They could maybe pick up the odd but here and there but it’s unlikely to be the volume required to kick things off to their supposed 5 year break even point. A more realistic proposal would be to reopen in 2027 for passenger ops, and I expect this might happen in summer once local elections are complete and assuming the Gainshare drawdown is given the go ahead.

I doubt TUI have committed to anything yet anyway.

 

Re the mention of TUI - it is reported that one of the TUI Superstores is telling folk that all routes/aircraft are allocated for 2026 and there will be no offer from DSA. At risk of incurring the wrath of the baying mob I think it confirms what those in/associated with the industry on here know already but up to now would not wish to post. It is not just a case I'm sure of getting the airfield licensed by Spring next year - which on the face of it seems difficult anyway, but giving airlines time to formulate their plans once that happens as I doubt that they will put out a programme 'on spec' and risk having to cancel if the tight timescale is not met. Clearly nothing is 'nailed on' - 2027 might seem a more realistic proposition for a consistent operation?

Also the question of the airspace etc

 

Also the question of the airspace etc

The original ACP to close the airspace has been at the decision phase since 2023, there has been no movement in the new one since August 24 when Cyrrus created it on behalf of CDC.

I expect it’ll be up to the operator to do this work once the money has been forthcoming. Maybe part of this new £20 million will be used to put some money into Cyrrus meter to enable to pick this back up?

 

No way should DSA get back all the airspace they had last time, which was far too much for an airport with relatively few movements.

 

No way should DSA get back all the airspace they had last time, which was far too much for an airport with relatively few movements.

I'm pretty sure that they will not. The CAA review in 2019 the link to which I believe was posted by @radar was pretty clear that it was inappropriate for the number of movements. Once bitten - twice shy - I think a more 'equitable' solution (and smaller volume of airspace) will eventually evolve facilitating CAT at DSA (at whatever level that might be at) and considering the needs of GA for an unhindered north/south transit. In theory and I believe legally, the CAA are unable to simply restore the previous airspace once the airfield license was surrendered by Peel and the new application (already in) will need to go through due process (and expense). However, who knows what might be going on!! The NOTAM deferred airspace in still at the final stage of removal in the ACP, and the new application still at the first.

 

I'm pretty sure that they will not. The CAA review in 2019 the link to which I believe was posted by @radar was pretty clear that it was inappropriate for the number of movements. Once bitten - twice shy - I think a more 'equitable' solution (and smaller volume of airspace) will eventually evolve facilitating CAT at DSA (at whatever level that might be at) and considering the needs of GA for an unhindered north/south transit. In theory and I believe legally, the CAA are unable to simply restore the previous airspace once the airfield license was surrendered by Peel and the new application (already in) will need to go through due process (and expense). However, who knows what might be going on!! The NOTAM deferred airspace in still at the final stage of removal in the ACP, and the new application still at the first.

I hope you're correct. Of course, the CDC Mayor continues banging on about protecting their airspace. As things stand, they surely have no airspace to protect unless the CAA say so.

 

I hope you're correct. Of course, the CDC Mayor continues banging on about protecting their airspace. As things stand, they surely have no airspace to protect unless the CAA say so.

There is an airspace meeting tomorrow, and a friend of Burke on social media say Mitchinson posting a bombshell story in YP tomorrow

 

Not sure what deal TUI had with Peel but it was clearly a long term one benefitting both parties. I’m not totally convinced about TUI coming back in the same way for a couple of reasons.

They first launched as part of their short lived Thomsonfly low cost arm. This was later absorbed into their core business and DSA inherited that as their core Yorkshire departure point. Things have changed since then and I’m not sure the aircraft are readily available at this time. They may want to start with infrequent W patterns?

If Jet2 are interested then I doubt TUI would be as keen. TUI generated the market but that was based on them being the only major tour operator at the airport. Jet2 would sew that up. Lots of people mentioned Ryanair as a possibility due to TUI taking capacity on their flights, but with the recent statement from MoL that now seems unlikely.

I still think that if there was genuine demand then easyJet would have exploited it. The previous operators would have welcomed them with open arms and lots of financial incentives. That would have saved the airport and provided the crucial footfall to see that the airport would be financially sustainable. But they didn’t, they put one aircraft in as part of a Peel Deal that failed to generate enough interest and lasted only 7 months or so. People just ignore this, so I wonder whether things at easyjet have changed enough so to see that they’d take a fresh look at it now?

It all still rumbles on like it is going to happen but at some point some serious question are surely going to have to be answered before it's all signed off and delivered. Like any right minded person I don't see how it can possibly be a different story a second time round non of it stacks up and nothing so far been put out by those behind the project clarifying anything different .

TUI I assume are a given Jet 2 remains an unknown but I still see them being enticed to try something I just don't see the airport opening without both TUI and Jet 2 on board Ryanair not a chance easyJet probably not but if they are given a complete freebie who knows desperate times may mean desperate measures???. Wizz I don't know potentially they maybe enticed to run a small number of routes they previously did very well if it was a jigsaw it would be missing hell of a lot of pieces but some are going to be on the table for sure if they fix together or nots a different story.

I'd think the place would really have to get passenger numbers up and running quickly to avoid even more questioning once open about the rational of the whole project you can picture it now passenger numbers peaking or being very close to peaking very early in the piece before routes get cut because of a lack of demand.

I do wonder how the South Yorkshire public would take to Jet 2 prices as I can only assume they'd be pretty high out of DSA.

 

It all still rumbles on like it is going to happen but at some point some serious question are surely going to have to be answered before it's all signed off and delivered. Like any right minded person I don't see how it can possibly be a different story a second time round non of it stacks up and nothing so far been put out by those behind the project clarifying anything different .

TUI I assume are a given Jet 2 remains an unknown but I still see them being enticed to try something I just don't see the airport opening without both TUI and Jet 2 on board Ryanair not a chance easyJet probably not but if they are given a complete freebie who knows desperate times may mean desperate measures???. Wizz I don't know potentially they maybe enticed to run a small number of routes they previously did very well if it was a jigsaw it would be missing hell of a lot of pieces but some are going to be on the table for sure if they fix together or nots a different story.

I'd think the place would really have to get passenger numbers up and running quickly to avoid even more questioning once open about the rational of the whole project you can picture it now passenger numbers peaking or being very close to peaking very early in the piece before routes get cut because of a lack of demand.

I do wonder how the South Yorkshire public would take to Jet 2 prices as I can only assume they'd be pretty high out of DSA.

At this stage I'd be simply amazed if jet2 would give more than a cursory glance in the direction of DSA. They seem like to operate relatively safe routes, where demand is demonstrable rather than taking big punts on huge unknowns. If any airline would be expected to take that level of risk with DSA, you'd expect it to be Ryanair, but O'Leary has made his feeling quite clear on the matter, calling it a "hard sell" (which I take to mean "Not a chance in hell any time soon").

TUI may show more of an interest of course, but it has to be remembered that they did benefit from favourable charges from Peel (as I understand it at least), something I suspect CDC / FlyDoncaster will not be as well positioned to offer. And we also have to remember that as others have said, a Spring 2026 opening is pretty much La-La Land stuff and 2027 is much more probable in reality. In this time both Manchester and LBA will have expanded their capacities, leaving even fewer scraps for a new DSA operation to scoop up. Plus in the meantime CDC will have to keep forking up for maintenance of the airport whist it lies empty, something that will not go down well with many locals the next time CDC increase their Council Tax.

Personally I think the final decision on financing being delayed is a purely political move to get local elections out of the way, and give wriggle room for CDC to line up scapegoats if the decision goes against DSA. There will be a lot less clamour from locals not wanting to get nose bleeds leaving South Yorkshire for their flights for the jollies, as holidays will be booked. So the summer would be a good time to deliver bad news if indeed this turns out to be the case.

 

At this stage I'd be simply amazed if jet2 would give more than a cursory glance in the direction of DSA. They seem like to operate relatively safe routes, where demand is demonstrable rather than taking big punts on huge unknowns. If any airline would be expected to take that level of risk with DSA, you'd expect it to be Ryanair, but O'Leary has made his feeling quite clear on the matter, calling it a "hard sell" (which I take to mean "Not a chance in hell any time soon").

TUI may show more of an interest of course, but it has to be remembered that they did benefit from favourable charges from Peel (as I understand it at least), something I suspect CDC / FlyDoncaster will not be as well positioned to offer. And we also have to remember that as others have said, a Spring 2026 opening is pretty much La-La Land stuff and 2027 is much more probable in reality. In this time both Manchester and LBA will have expanded their capacities, leaving even fewer scraps for a new DSA operation to scoop up. Plus in the meantime CDC will have to keep forking up for maintenance of the airport whist it lies empty, something that will not go down well with many locals the next time CDC increase their Council Tax.

Personally I think the final decision on financing being delayed is a purely political move to get local elections out of the way, and give wriggle room for CDC to line up scapegoats if the decision goes against DSA. There will be a lot less clamour from locals not wanting to get nose bleeds leaving South Yorkshire for their flights for the jollies, as holidays will be booked. So the summer would be a good time to deliver bad news if indeed this turns out to be the case.

Well summed up, but it does beg the question why they would be given another £20 million to continue work on it if there is a good chance the proposal doesn’t pass the scrutiny OC claims to be putting the plans through. If anything they’ve laid all their cards out on the table years ago, before they even had chance to actually have a good look at it. They said back in 2022 that they know it can be a success, Coppard even said he understood Peel could have done things differently resulting in a different outcome. Why has he left things until now to complete independent scrutiny? Surely your first thing to do would be to commission viability studies before entering into a procurement exercise. But we don’t really know who completed the initial viability studies because we’re not allowed to see them, they mentioned names that haven’t reappeared subsequently, perhaps this latest £20million is to put money in the meter of those companies?

There was another meeting about the airport yesterday which included the British Chamber of Commerce. They’ve said they hope to have freight operating by the end of this year and are confident there will be passenger flights Spring 26. This is from the project director who is a council employee NOT an MAI employee…

It all still rumbles on like it is going to happen but at some point some serious question are surely going to have to be answered before it's all signed off and delivered. Like any right minded person I don't see how it can possibly be a different story a second time round non of it stacks up and nothing so far been put out by those behind the project clarifying anything different .

TUI I assume are a given Jet 2 remains an unknown but I still see them being enticed to try something I just don't see the airport opening without both TUI and Jet 2 on board Ryanair not a chance easyJet probably not but if they are given a complete freebie who knows desperate times may mean desperate measures???. Wizz I don't know potentially they maybe enticed to run a small number of routes they previously did very well if it was a jigsaw it would be missing hell of a lot of pieces but some are going to be on the table for sure if they fix together or nots a different story.

I'd think the place would really have to get passenger numbers up and running quickly to avoid even more questioning once open about the rational of the whole project you can picture it now passenger numbers peaking or being very close to peaking very early in the piece before routes get cut because of a lack of demand.

I do wonder how the South Yorkshire public would take to Jet 2 prices as I can only assume they'd be pretty high out of DSA.

I don’t think TUI are a given, not at the moment and not to the extent they were operating before, least not initially. As for Jet2, well they do have a lot of aircraft arriving and they’ll need somewhere to put them but it’s far from likely that they’ll ’try something’ and in my view anything that may consider would have to be once they’re confident of the airport being sustainable this time around and possibly the night time limitations issue at LBA not being resolved.

I’m pretty sure If they removed capacity at LBA and put it into DSA it would be grounds for legal action against FlyDoncaster owing to the public subsidy.