Doncaster Sheffield Airport Strategic Review Announcement

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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...?
 
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Exactly how much interest do you think Peel have in the local area?

They have exactly non like any other area they operate in they are pretty much hated everywhere they operate because of how they operate they are good at what they do yes but hated for the way they treat people be it airport staff or Liverpool dockers.

They really are ruthless in how they go about their business.

Yes it's up to Peel to do what they want however they haven't half screwed some very loyal hard working staff in the last few months who've served them for many years whilst a few walked off into the sunset with a nice payoff whilst screwing all around them.

Sorry but how much can you trust Peel from where I sit you can't they've played a complete lie going back to 2018 or whenever it was when they released that video on about the airport being key to the area's success and an aerotropolis as they put it.

Obviously it depends on which side of Yorkshire you sit with this debate some in South Yorkshire have little idea or like it's been mentioned had little interest till now on the matter whilst other folk will until it's proven otherwise, those who have actually had an interest over the years in DSA continue to and in my opinion rightly claim severe mismanagement of the place in recent times whilst those in West Yorkshire continue to have a different opinion entirely. Maybe the truth sits somewhere in the middle.

Peel have now got what they have wanted over the last few years (my view won't change) with very little fuss up to the last few weeks the airport's gone it will take five years but they'll sit on the land till that day and then they'll be allowed to build what they want or in other people's minds quarry the place unless there is something in this lease thing mentioned that they believe can get them what they want immediately?. I can't remember that point being mentioned before by anyone.

Peel want this done and dusted they don't want it dragging on however it's going to play out for a little while longer I'm not sure to who's advantage that is ultimately at this stage will Peel's near silence favour them and things go in there favour pretty quickly or are Peel worried the longer this drag's on the more messy thing's get for them and a continued fight arise over time before Peel ultimately win the day.
Nonsense, a loyal and happy staff doesn’t side well with the mismanagement theory. I’ve worked worked with a few former employees over the years who got out because they could see it wasn’t working and something would have to give eventually. I would suggest you stop the regional divisiveness as it’s not helpful and nor is it accurate going by the support on social media.

What could another operator have done ei ensure there was an adequate flow of commercial traffic to build a solid critical mass? I know you think Peel charged too much but I can tell you now that is false, not only because of airline deals that have been publicised over the years but also through me actually seeing commercially agreed rates.
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I have read a number of social media posts from the outgoing staff and I have been impressed with the dignity and lack of vindictiveness of the posts. Clearly a proud and closely knit bunch and hope they all have found/will find alternative employment. Airport staff with airside clearance are like gold! The mismanagement claim is widespread in some circles - is there any evidence of what form that has taken? It would be helpful if some of this stuff could be fact checked. The whole situation is a complete mess.
Indeed, you beat me to it in my response. It is those loyal employees that i feel for, as I would with any business that is forced to close. They are getting jobs elsewhere though 😉

Interestingly the Save DSA admin have blocked a fair few posts from employees/former employees in their group for being ‘negative’..

There is no evidence of mismanagement. There may be some ways Peel could have handled things differently (they could have charged a ‘development fee’ for instance, but as we know, that is not conducive to growth!) But when passenger numbers don’t stack up there’s only so many times you can drag the horse to the water source.
 
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It's odd that Peel are accused of mismanagement when, over the years they have successfully attracted TUi, Wizz Hungary, Wizz UK, Flybe, Ryanair, easyJet, Aer Lingus Regional, Links Air, the National Police Service, Excel Aviation, Yorkshire Aeroplane Club,and others. Several of those were poached directly from LBA and it's common knowledge that they undercut LBAs fees to do so. Peel also did very well to attract a huge amount of cargo during the pandemic (PPE), various other regular freight flights such as those for Volvo using Russian aircraft, and for several months, the Islamabad flights that would normally operate from MAN.

From where I am sitting, they have done very well in attracting new airlines and operators over the years. They have had more success than LBA over that period but the one jewel in the crown that they never got, and which seems to upset the DSA supporters most is their failure to attract Jet2, who were already established at LBA and just starting out at MAN when DSA opened. It didn't help that the boss at Jet2 stated they would never operate from DSA as they need to be where their customers are - he obviously recognised DSAs problem. The other airlines, bar TUi and Wizz Hungary also found out the hard way.

TUi did their flight only programme from DSA then withdrew it. So did Wizz UK more recently. So did Flybe. All three had a DSA base. Both easyJet and Ryanair failed too. And Aer Lingus Regional. Only the niche market operated by Wizz Hungary and the Package Tour side of TUi made a good go of it although even Wizz have reduced their programme in recent times with several destinations dropped.

There's no evidence at all of mismanagement. Another airport senior executive stated that he felt sympathy for Peel who he said had invested heavily and that they had been very patient but enough was enough, with most of their successes ultimately becoming failures.

Personally I await with interest details of what Peel did that constitutes the alleged mismanagement.claimed by the Doncaster Mayor and others.
 
Exactly how much interest do you think Peel have in the local area?

They have exactly non like any other area they operate in they are pretty much hated everywhere they operate because of how they operate they are good at what they do yes but hated for the way they treat people be it airport staff or Liverpool dockers.

They really are ruthless in how they go about their business.

Yes it's up to Peel to do what they want however they haven't half screwed some very loyal hard working staff in the last few months who've served them for many years whilst a few walked off into the sunset with a nice payoff whilst screwing all around them.

Sorry but how much can you trust Peel from where I sit you can't they've played a complete lie going back to 2018 or whenever it was when they released that video on about the airport being key to the area's success and an aerotropolis as they put it.

Obviously it depends on which side of Yorkshire you sit with this debate some in South Yorkshire have little idea or like it's been mentioned had little interest till now on the matter whilst other folk will until it's proven otherwise, those who have actually had an interest over the years in DSA continue to and in my opinion rightly claim severe mismanagement of the place in recent times whilst those in West Yorkshire continue to have a different opinion entirely. Maybe the truth sits somewhere in the middle.

Peel have now got what they have wanted over the last few years (my view won't change) with very little fuss up to the last few weeks the airport's gone it will take five years but they'll sit on the land till that day and then they'll be allowed to build what they want or in other people's minds quarry the place unless there is something in this lease thing mentioned that they believe can get them what they want immediately?. I can't remember that point being mentioned before by anyone.

Peel want this done and dusted they don't want it dragging on however it's going to play out for a little while longer I'm not sure to who's advantage that is ultimately at this stage will Peel's near silence favour them and things go in there favour pretty quickly or are Peel worried the longer this drag's on the more messy thing's get for them and a continued fight arise over time before Peel ultimately win the day.

I'm not from West Yorkshire and don't agree with your assessment of the regional split narrative. The mismanagement tack is just the strap line from the Save DSA group and the local politicians. It fits their narrative, in fact it is pretty much their only narrative.

Why did Vantage walk away from the JV? They saw where their investment was going, saw no way back and got out. They are still in the JV for LPL. Non of this gets mentioned, and is in fact avoided by those pushing the mismanagement agenda. I have yet to see any evidence to show mismanagement, but plenty to show lack of viability.

Some of those pushing for a Judicial Review may not like the outcome if one does indeed take place. Facts trump bullshit at the end of the day.
 
I'm not from West Yorkshire and don't agree with your assessment of the regional split narrative. The mismanagement tack is just the strap line from the Save DSA group and the local politicians. It fits their narrative, in fact it is pretty much their only narrative.

Why did Vantage walk away from the JV? They saw where their investment was going, saw no way back and got out. They are still in the JV for LPL. Non of this gets mentioned, and is in fact avoided by those pushing the mismanagement agenda. I have yet to see any evidence to show mismanagement, but plenty to show lack of viability.

Some of those pushing for a Judicial Review may not like the outcome if one does indeed take place. Facts trump bullshit at the end of the day.
I think Peel made a fair bit out of selling to Vantage and buying it back. See also similar dealings with Eastern Airways and Bristow and Richard Lake. I’m not clever enough to fully understand how it works, but this sort of thing is quite common.

I think it will be found that Peel have done what they can to keep the place operating, by moving equity around the group as mentioned on here previously, but also by selling to Vantage (and even buying back when this didn’t work). I do think this is the final solution and not the original plan. Obviously Save DSA are using the fact the judge didn’t dismiss out of hand as a victory, he’s quoted in DFP as saying as much. But like I said, the courts will be aware of how emotive the topic is, it will go to appeal no doubt which ever way it lands.

Do wonder whether the public will hear the results of any review. A lot of it will be subject to commercial sensitivity so will open up another can of worms which would implicate other airlines and operators so they will have to tread carefully.

Meanwhile the council have said the article released over the weekend in the Telegraph was false, which is strange as Peel had nothing to do with it apparently. I don’t think the council truly know the status as they’ve probably been cut out of the discussions, but they will know more than they’re letting on about the lack of viability.
 
So on the point of mismanagement or not how come so much information has been passed to the local authority that it's happened and why are they so convinced it is true that Peel have manufactured this from whatever point they may have, or in many others view haven't manufactured.

I've personally asked the question to Oliver Coppard re mismanagement knowing he really couldn't answer it due to it's sensitive nature however him and others are absolutely convinced that Peel threw in the towel that's about as much as they are willing to say for obvious reasons however Coppard has stated on local radio his view of this in a few words stating one company who wanted to set up shop at DSA were outright told thank you but no thank you by Peel.

Peel said themselves in the ACC meeting minutes two or three years back that new opportunities were arising and they had confidence that new business would come to the airport they employed some respectable people to drive certain area's of the operation but nothing came of this except the Wizz UK deal that's pretty poor going by any standard even in a difficult industry whilst things the airport previously had like training flights virtually completely ceased that's a company throwing everything at it?.

On the point of Wizz Hungary and the DSA routes yes DSA lost a number of these 4 if I'm correct and one didn't ever start however every route that ended was due to a base closure and affected other airports as well

The save DSA group isn't took seriously by anyone with a real interest in the airport the guy running it likes smoke blowing up his backside and bans anyone who posts anything he doesn't like.

Until I see otherwise I honestly can't change my view that Peel have played this card and it's not just been played from the start of this year.
 
Clearly at some point they (Peel) decided that the airport was unviable and their investment would have to be recouped by finding an alternative use for the land. Almost certainly they will have reached that decision in 2020/21 as COVID hit and the industry was decimated. That’s not mismanagement - that’s an entirely sensible reaction to a massive existential event that impacted their business sector more than any other. Up until the onset of the pandemic they were clearly trying to grow the number of airlines to create the critical mass they (quite rightly) identified as being essential for success.
 
So on the point of mismanagement or not how come so much information has been passed to the local authority that it's happened and why are they so convinced it is true that Peel have manufactured this from whatever point they may have, or in many others view haven't manufactured.

I've personally asked the question to Oliver Coppard re mismanagement knowing he really couldn't answer it due to it's sensitive nature however him and others are absolutely convinced that Peel threw in the towel that's about as much as they are willing to say for obvious reasons however Coppard has stated on local radio his view of this in a few words stating one company who wanted to set up shop at DSA were outright told thank you but no thank you by Peel.

Peel said themselves in the ACC meeting minutes two or three years back that new opportunities were arising and they had confidence that new business would come to the airport they employed some respectable people to drive certain area's of the operation but nothing came of this except the Wizz UK deal that's pretty poor going by any standard even in a difficult industry whilst things the airport previously had like training flights virtually completely ceased that's a company throwing everything at it?.

On the point of Wizz Hungary and the DSA routes yes DSA lost a number of these 4 if I'm correct and one didn't ever start however every route that ended was due to a base closure and affected other airports as well

The save DSA group isn't took seriously by anyone with a real interest in the airport the guy running it likes smoke blowing up his backside and bans anyone who posts anything he doesn't like.

Until I see otherwise I honestly can't change my view that Peel have played this card and it's not just been played from the start of this year.
They backed away from talks with an ‘low cost airline’ who it is believed to have been Ryanair, this is what Oliver Coppard will be referring to when he suggests that there is evidence that ‘Peel have not explored all growth opportunities’. The problem with this is that nobody seems to know the terms that were being asked of the airport, nor are they considering the impact on the business of adding competition on routes that have been thin to start with.

Truth is RobDSA, that demand is finite and a delicate balancing act needs to be employed so to build critical mass in a sustainable way. You must consider that at the time of ‘turning away’ this other airline, Wizzair U.K. had committed to putting two aircraft in to DSA, and there was talk of eventually basing five aircraft and creating a large northern base at DSA. Of course, Ryanair would have seen that as a threat, risk being letting Ryanair in to decimate the market and then just retreating back to established based at EMA and LBA when they’ve seen that competition away. Mismanagement by ‘Peel’? I think not. You are looking at this with the benefit of hindsight, it’s not a football club with a poor run of form one season, it’s a significant capital investment that has consistently failed to generate business enough to forsee a profit, ever.

The aviation development team had been tasked with potentially attracting business away from competitor airports, that was the only way the business would grow sustainably. They failed at doing this, if there is a public investigation into Peel (which I feel perhaps should be completed in the interest of public awareness, though I’m sure will not happen given the already grey area legalities), then I’m sure all of this will be confirmed.

As for public money being spent to help connect the airport to the motorway etc. well this point was raised on this forum and elsewhere by numerous contributors, but the people supporting DSA wouldn’t hear anything against it. How ironic now that they are placing all the blame on the company they blindly supported for all that time, same goes for the local authorities.

I agree re. saveDSA, but to cut the guy some slack, he is trying to focus positive discussion to keep people interested, otherwise he knows it will weaken their position,
 
They backed away from talks with an ‘low cost airline’ who it is believed to have been Ryanair, this is what Oliver Coppard will be referring to when he suggests that there is evidence that ‘Peel have not explored all growth opportunities’. The problem with this is that nobody seems to know the terms that were being asked of the airport, nor are they considering the impact on the business of adding competition on routes that have been thin to start with.

Truth is RobDSA, that demand is finite and a delicate balancing act needs to be employed so to build critical mass in a sustainable way. You must consider that at the time of ‘turning away’ this other airline, Wizzair U.K. had committed to putting two aircraft in to DSA, and there was talk of eventually basing five aircraft and creating a large northern base at DSA. Of course, Ryanair would have seen that as a threat, risk being letting Ryanair in to decimate the market and then just retreating back to established based at EMA and LBA when they’ve seen that competition away. Mismanagement by ‘Peel’? I think not. You are looking at this with the benefit of hindsight, it’s not a football club with a poor run of form one season, it’s a significant capital investment that has consistently failed to generate business enough to forsee a profit, ever.

The aviation development team had been tasked with potentially attracting business away from competitor airports, that was the only way the business would grow sustainably. They failed at doing this, if there is a public investigation into Peel (which I feel perhaps should be completed in the interest of public awareness, though I’m sure will not happen given the already grey area legalities), then I’m sure all of this will be confirmed.

As for public money being spent to help connect the airport to the motorway etc. well this point was raised on this forum and elsewhere by numerous contributors, but the people supporting DSA wouldn’t hear anything against it. How ironic now that they are placing all the blame on the company they blindly supported for all that time, same goes for the local authorities.

I agree re. saveDSA, but to cut the guy some slack, he is trying to focus positive discussion to keep people interested, otherwise he knows it will weaken their position,
It had nothing to do with Ryanair in the slightest what Oliver Coppard was on about in that interview it wasn't connected to any airline starting operations.

I ain't looking at it with hindsight. Yes we know how things work however if Peel were still interested in making the airport a success at that time why not throw the kitchen sink at it take both airlines yes there would of been a winner and loser however they'd have still been in a better place and they would certainly have been able to say we tried. Other airports have taken that route would it have made good business sake many may say no however nobody knows what the outcome would of been as it didn't happen Peel simply didn't want another airline coming in.

Does anyone actually know the number of based units Wizz were putting into DSA where has this magic figure of 5 come from Wizz signed a deal they then upgraded that deal lots of speculation has been put about but has anyone ever seen any evidence to suggest 5 aircraft was the number?.

Whatever the number was it still wasn't gaining the critical mass on it's own other carriers or another carrier would of been needed.

The whole lot of them between them couldn't attract anything be it passenger airlines that stayed or Cargo ops in any number, they threw away the keys to training flights that they had in good number they couldn't attract anyone to the old Cessna hangar I find it quite staggering that this is the case that simply the airport became a ridiculous failure on such a grand scale that they couldn't actually manage to get anything right, didn't they end up employing the same man to put DSA to the sword as at DTV towards the end just to add insult to injury, is everything just the local myth sour grapes were the books really as bad as they looked if DSA was failing so badly without any assistance why weren't a whole bunch of other regional airports failing as badly I get your point and others however I still can't get how this point was reached in the way it was so quickly without the help of those running the operation.
 
It had nothing to do with Ryanair in the slightest what Oliver Coppard was on about in that interview it wasn't connected to any airline starting operations.

I ain't looking at it with hindsight. Yes we know how things work however if Peel were still interested in making the airport a success at that time why not throw the kitchen sink at it take both airlines yes there would of been a winner and loser however they'd have still been in a better place and they would certainly have been able to say we tried. Other airports have taken that route would it have made good business sake many may say no however nobody knows what the outcome would of been as it didn't happen Peel simply didn't want another airline coming in.

Does anyone actually know the number of based units Wizz were putting into DSA where has this magic figure of 5 come from Wizz signed a deal they then upgraded that deal lots of speculation has been put about but has anyone ever seen any evidence to suggest 5 aircraft was the number?.

Whatever the number was it still wasn't gaining the critical mass on it's own other carriers or another carrier would of been needed.

The whole lot of them between them couldn't attract anything be it passenger airlines that stayed or Cargo ops in any number, they threw away the keys to training flights that they had in good number they couldn't attract anyone to the old Cessna hangar I find it quite staggering that this is the case that simply the airport became a ridiculous failure on such a grand scale that they couldn't actually manage to get anything right, didn't they end up employing the same man to put DSA to the sword as at DTV towards the end just to add insult to injury, is everything just the local myth sour grapes were the books really as bad as they looked if DSA was failing so badly without any assistance why weren't a whole bunch of other regional airports failing as badly I get your point and others however I still can't get how this point was reached in the way it was so quickly without the help of those running the operation.
Well what was Oliver Coppard on about then? I don’t think he’s as informed as he makes out, even though he will have been aware of the dire financial situation when he decided to forego the offer of equity share in the airport. Perhaps you could ask that question of him. If he’s so sure the airport is viable why would they reject Peels offer based on concern over the financial viability of the operation? They did share their books by the way, that is in recorded minutes.

As for Wizz, that is from DSA based wizzair pilots who were told about it by higher ups. They were also telling us about it elsewhere but I am not going to say where due forum anonymity, but if you choose to think otherwise then that is your prerogative. 5 aircraft would have gotten closer to the magical 2.5 million break even point.

I don’t think you grasp the concept of how airports work to be quite honest, you’re probably slightly more wizened to it that many of those on the various social media platforms, but saying things like ‘throwing the kitchen sink’ at it as if that means something tangible? What do you think they did, ignore business? They just weren’t in a position to be able to encourage airlines to start up there because they are already so entrenched at neighbouring airports that Peel were on to a loser in 2005. Easyjet confirmed as much when they were unable to carve a market for themselves from there. I will say it again, they ‘threw the kitchen sink’ at KLM, Jet2, easyJet, Ryanair, Thomas Cook, Shaheen (remember them?) Vueling, Norwegian, Aer Lingus (Aer arran and Stobart), TUI, Wizzair U.K., Wizzair, FlyBe, Fedex, Amazon, FlyGlobespan. Only TUI and Wizzair ever managed to create a lasting operation.

What is it that you cannot see? The passengers didn’t support it enough, it was marginal at best. It was predicted this would happen all along. If it gets bought and ran as an airport by someone else, the exact same thing will happen. I’m sorry to be blunt, but this has been bubbling under the surface for years. Sad for the staff of course, but that is the worst thing about the whole farce.
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Post elsewhere suggests ATC are to be made redundant on 2nd December. This would suggest Peel are confident of the court hearing going in their favour before then.
 
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That's it game over for Doncaster ATC.

As of yesterday ATC at DSA was informed that there services have been terminated as of 23:59 on the 2nd December 2022 and forced redundancy is being served. The airspace will revert back to uncontrolled.
 
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That's it game over for at Doncaster ATC.

As of yesterday ATC at DSA was informed that there services have been terminated as of 23:59 on the 2nd December 2022 and forced redundancy is being served. The airspace will revert back to uncontrolled.
Also as of a NOTAM issued yesterday, fire cover has now been removed completely so the airport is now just an unlicensed airfield.

I feel that the legal action by DMBC has only served to hasten the draw down.
 
The airport QC did say during the court hearing that there would be no ATC from 3rd December. They had agreed to suspend closure until the end of the month so looks like they are not going to be leaned on by Doncaster's Mayor or the SY Mayor any further.

ATC folk aren't exactly ten a penny so I hope those losing their jobs can quickly find new positions , but it's a team that will now be split up along with the fire crews and every other worker on site.

It does seem that Peel feel confident that the Court decision won't prevent these redundancies. Frankly I would be surprised if it did.
 
The airport QC did say during the court hearing that there would be no ATC from 3rd December. They had agreed to suspend closure until the end of the month so looks like they are not going to be leaned on by Doncaster's Mayor or the SY Mayor any further.

ATC folk aren't exactly ten a penny so I hope those losing their jobs can quickly find new positions , but it's a team that will now be split up along with the fire crews and every other worker on site.

It does seem that Peel feel confident that the Court decision won't prevent these redundancies. Frankly I would be surprised if it did.
Indeed, that’s initially what Ros Jones led people to believe through various public announcements. Then it seems they have subsequently applied for injunction and JR, however she did say that Peel had a legal agreement to keep DSA open until the end of November so not sure where that was sought or whether she t even existed.?

It’s all been very odd, I’m not sure what to believe re. interested buyer as it seems there hasn’t been anyone particularly interested, perhaps it’s because Save DSA have been controlling the narrative on that front so much so that peoples hopes have been built up and dashed. Would explain why they have deleted posts by airport workers. Only serves to perpetuate the myth.

Suspect we may hear more this week, wonder whether they really will go down the CPO route? Either way, as I understand it, if DSA Ltd is folded then I imagine Peel Group will inherit the land. Then they can do what they like with it. The carry on over in Bolton shoot serve as a cautious reminder of what can happen when councils try throwing weight around.
 
I would like to think with all its hangars, vast aprons and long runway it would be a perfect base for a commercial aircraft maintenance organisation, likewise spraying or scrapping. I wouldnt think there would be the need for the same level of ATC or fire cover. Would be a great shame to let an aviation resource such as this disappear altogether.
 
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Post elsewhere from a usually reliable source is that Peel have provisionally accepted an offer for DSA subject to due diligence. Interesting move given the statements in the court hearing last week.
 
The airport QC did say during the court hearing that there would be no ATC from 3rd December. They had agreed to suspend closure until the end of the month so looks like they are not going to be leaned on by Doncaster's Mayor or the SY Mayor any further.

ATC folk aren't exactly ten a penny so I hope those losing their jobs can quickly find new positions , but it's a team that will now be split up along with the fire crews and every other worker on site.

It does seem that Peel feel confident that the Court decision won't prevent these redundancies. Frankly I would be surprised if it did.
I understand that only the tower was locally staffed and the approach/zone 'controllers' were based in Liverpool so hopefully actual redundancies will be minimal but doubt they will be out of a job for long -like airside staff with security clearance they are a sought after item!
 

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