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...?

 

by logistics i mean transportation of goods from point of origin to destination. the development is for the new terminal, no way is that going to help logistics to and from the airport.

LBA does what it does very well - pax, and pretty much at capacity currently at that too. That's why there is £100m regen project going on. LBA does not need freight to throw a spanner in the works. We have Boeing with their Max's doing a good enough job of that thank you

 

by logistics i mean transportation of goods from point of origin to destination. the development is for the new terminal, no way is that going to help logistics to and from the airport.

You refer several times now to Gateway East giving DSA an advantage over LBA and state that LBA is a logistical nightmare. I agree, the road network to LBA is pants, thanks to the Government blocking the original Pudsey to Dishforth motorway that would have linked the M62 and A1 and which would have passed directly alongside LBA's Eastern boundary, followed by Leeds City Council (and to a degree Bradford Council too) then failing to build any new roads or even carry out any major road improvements on routes to LBA in my lifetime.

However, the logistical situation can't be so detrimental given that the LBA Depot adjacent to the airport, (which was the wartime Avro factory, then the largest single manufacturing plant in Europe) has just sold for £25m. It covers 60 acres, houses various companies, and these include logistical related businesses. HGVs are a constant sight there and despite the roads, and distance to the Motorway networks, they keep on coming.

Leeds City Council are planning a North West Leeds industrial and business park adjacent to the LBA Depot, which is a sizeable development, so it will be interesting to see if this scheme prompts any road enhancement schemes worth having. The problem has been that the anti LBA fraternity object to LBA growth, claiming that the road network to the airport isn't suitable, but when the Council comes up with schemes to change that, the same people object to new roads because they know it will blow their objections to LBA growth out of the water.

The point is that logistics to LBA might not be great but they have not, and will not prevent passenger growth up to 7m p.a, which is all it is interested in, whilst good links to DSA have not and will not ensure the airport has a future, whether passenger nor freight related. I suspect any new owners will have realised this so will be looking to use surrounding facilities as part of the overall deal and to ensure airport losses can be made up from other sources.. That's hardly an ideal selling point for DSA and potentially not what Doncaster Council had in mind either.

 

You refer several times now to Gateway East giving DSA an advantage over LBA and state that LBA is a logistical nightmare. I agree, the road network to LBA is pants, thanks to the Government blocking the original Pudsey to Dishforth motorway that would have linked the M62 and A1 and which would have passed directly alongside LBA's Eastern boundary, followed by Leeds City Council (and to a degree Bradford Council too) then failing to build any new roads or even carry out any major road improvements on routes to LBA in my lifetime.

However, the logistical situation can't be so detrimental given that the LBA Depot adjacent to the airport, (which was the wartime Avro factory, then the largest single manufacturing plant in Europe) has just sold for £25m. It covers 60 acres, houses various companies, and these include logistical related businesses. HGVs are a constant sight there and despite the roads, and distance to the Motorway networks, they keep on coming.

Leeds City Council are planning a North West Leeds industrial and business park adjacent to the LBA Depot, which is a sizeable development, so it will be interesting to see if this scheme prompts any road enhancement schemes worth having. The problem has been that the anti LBA fraternity object to LBA growth, claiming that the road network to the airport isn't suitable, but when the Council comes up with schemes to change that, the same people object to new roads because they know it will blow their objections to LBA growth out of the water.

The point is that logistics to LBA might not be great but they have not, and will not prevent passenger growth up to 7m p.a, which is all it is interested in, whilst good links to DSA have not and will not ensure the airport has a future, whether passenger nor freight related. I suspect any new owners will have realised this so will be looking to use surrounding facilities as part of the overall deal and to ensure airport losses can be made up from other sources.. That's hardly an ideal selling point for DSA and potentially not what Doncaster Council had in mind either.

I would also argue that road links to DSA aren’t so great especially if travelling from the Leeds - Bradford area…..whilst DSA may have links to the M18 via the Great Yorkshire Way, the Doncaster A1 bypass and the two lane A1 to the north of it are a nightmare most of the time. I was recently working just to the north of Doncaster and my commute back to Leeds was over 100 minutes to do just 35 miles! Unfortunately traffic is a nightmare across most of West and South Yorkshire due to the poor state of public transport.
As to logistics and cargo, EMA beats DSA hands down, it has far better road links being in the M1/A42/A50/A6 junctions opening up the whole of the Midlands, Northern and Eastern England and has on-site the Maritime Transport rail cargo hub providing a direct rail container facility.

 

I would also argue that road links to DSA aren’t so great especially if travelling from the Leeds - Bradford area…..whilst DSA may have links to the M18 via the Great Yorkshire Way, the Doncaster A1 bypass and the two lane A1 to the north of it are a nightmare most of the time. I was recently working just to the north of Doncaster and my commute back to Leeds was over 100 minutes to do just 35 miles! Unfortunately traffic is a nightmare across most of West and South Yorkshire due to the poor state of public transport.
As to logistics and cargo, EMA beats DSA hands down, it has far better road links being in the M1/A42/A50/A6 junctions opening up the whole of the Midlands, Northern and Eastern England and has on-site the Maritime Transport rail cargo hub providing a direct rail container facility.

I think they missed a trick with DSA and not linking it up to the JCT4 M18 with an effective loop to JCT3 as that would potentially open up a huge amount of land for development. In terms of reaching the airport from East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, it’s still quicker to take the back streets through Hatfield Woodhouse and risk getting stuck behind a tractor (which is often an inevitability in my experience) than to travel down the M18 to JCT3 and up the link road to the airport, at busy periods the two lane M18 can get snarled up, particularly at the JCT3 slip and onto the link road. Still, ignoring HUY it was the quickest airport to reach from Hull/Grimsby but they arent themselves huge markets. Doncaster isn’t a large market, South Yorkshire in its entirety is but as I frequently travel through South Yorks to get to EMA. The isn’t much longer than to DSA for the most part (though the current works on the M1 south of Sheffield are a PITA, it still only takes around 30-40 minutes from the M18/M1 junction!), so the attraction of DSA to its largest target market is somewhat diluted by the greater choice from EMA. EMA is a massive market, not only for freight but for passengers too, overshadowed by BHX to the West and Luton to the South, it still gives a good account of itself. It’s just a little bit too close to DSA, and with DSA core catchment being relatively sparsely populated, particularly to the East and South East, it’s not in as good a location to compete for the airline traffic.

It’s rubbish for those of us in East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, but that’s the price you pay for living in an under populated region. However, it’s why I was and still am a proponent of HUY, as it really does provide a close option to those East Yorks/Lincs passengers that don’t want to travel to MAN or EMA and like NWI and EXT, did and could again carve out a niche for itself offering convenience that DSA tried to do but was overshadowed by close competition. The small market for HUY has undeniably been fragmented to the point it barely exists when DSA does, but ironically HUY was profitable and still could be on a much smaller passenger throughput. Guess it’s not as attractive though is it.

 

Just had a peep over on Facebook at one person says they're "praying for Jet2", a true sign of sheer desperation if these people are praying for airlines.

 

Just had a peep over on Facebook at one person says they're "praying for Jet2", a true sign of sheer desperation if these people are praying for airlines.

Irrespective of which God they are bothering with this, I suspect they are not likely to have their prayers answered.

Jet2 had 17 years to choose to operate out of DSA and didn't. Why these people think that now, Jet2 will, out of the goodness of their hearts, choose to fly out of a previously failed airport that's just 30 miles from their home base, and a similar distance from their biggest base too, is beyond me. Jet2 have announced Bournemouth for next year and already said that's the lot as far as bases are concerned

Delusional.

 

i was talking to an old RAF gut who was station at finningley about the airport, and he said at the time it was the main diversion airport in the uk, when they only had 4. he said before its closure as a RAF base he would have bet his life that the goverment would never close it. and in twenty years they never could not land a plane there.

 

i was talking to an old RAF gut who was station at finningley about the airport, and he said at the time it was the main diversion airport in the uk, when they only had 4. he said before its closure as a RAF base he would have bet his life that the goverment would never close it. and in twenty years they never could not land a plane there.

It’s another one of those myths. By the mid 90’s RAF Finningley was surplus to requirements hence its closure. I don’t even think it was put on care and maintenance or anything, it was flogged off to Peel in the late 90’s. Why would the RAF require a diversion airfield that they otherwise do not operate? Plenty of other airfields to take up the slack. Yes it was one of the airfields that could be used in the case of hijacking or a bomb threat, but there are others in the U.K. with this capability so there is no real loss in that respect. When the MOD sold it the Government wanted to build a prison on it, it was Peel who prevented that by following through with their vision to turn it into an airport. MAG also assessed the site and determined it wasn’t viable and that’s why they purchased HUY

 

Yes it was one of the airfields that could be used in the case of hijacking or a bomb threat, but there are others in the U.K.

Stansted is the designated airfield for this.

 

Stansted is the designated airfield for this.

It is but I’ve heard recently that they don’t want to be it any more due to how busy they are now. Effectively having an active incident closes the airport which isn’t ideal.

Anyway, the RAF had 8 master diversion airfields in the U.K. in the 80’s (whilst Finningley was still operational) and none of those 8 were Finningley. So id file this one down as another myth along with it being the trans oceanic abort landing site for the space shuttle, and Virgin being turned away by Peel after wanting to open a hub at DSA. It’s all nonsense.

 

Just had a peep over on Facebook at one person says they're "praying for Jet2", a true sign of sheer desperation if these people are praying for airlines.

I suspect the majority of people on one of the campaign sites in particular are completely oblivious to the facts and realities of the situation - they believe that which they are told! Perceived negatives - which are often facts are not allowed! I can understand that the majority who seem to be holiday makers and judging by many comments are fairly local to DSA, don't want to travel further afield to fly if they can help. It will be interesting to see how this all evolves and whether expectations are met!! Trouble at t'mill if they're not I suspect!

 

Seen new recent claims from the brigade that airlines will pick DSA over (I presume LBA) due to its super long runway and airlines don't have to use higher thrust on take off. Ironic considering no airline would ever pick and airport due to that. LBA has similar runway lengths to LPL, NCL & BOH. longer then BRS. DSA struggled attracting any operator other then TUI/WIZZ. nothing will change if it ever reopens.

 

Seen new recent claims from the brigade that airlines will pick DSA over (I presume LBA) due to its super long runway and airlines don't have to use higher thrust on take off. Ironic considering no airline would ever pick and airport due to that. LBA has similar runway lengths to LPL, NCL & BOH. longer then BRS. DSA struggled attracting any operator other then TUI/WIZZ. nothing will change if it ever reopens.

Point to note here is that each airline will have their own procedures when it comes to performance and the use of things like de-rate. For instance, Ryanair TUI and Jet2 all operate the 737-800 and all will probably have a differing operating philosophy. Yes it’s not ideal if an airline who owns its engines (as opposed to leasing them) may want to preserve engine life by not firewalling them every time they take-off, however the B738 operates perfectly adequately on de-rate from all the airports you listed.

As for long-haul, the length of the runway is only one factor. TODA is key, you can have a 12,000ft runway but if your screen height is affected by an obstacle then you may find your available runway is quite a bit shorter than the 12,000ft given length. You can end up having a long ASDA and quite short TODA. Not suggesting that is/was the case at DSA but I do seem to recall reading somewhere the TORA and TODA weren’t quite as long as when the military ran it and declared runway length is technically shorter. Obviously you get those then spreading rumours that Peel physically shortened the runway when they took it on from the MOD, which is nonsense.

 

0Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones has promised an update on plans to re-open Doncaster Sheffield Airport later this week

 

Nick has today posted on Facebook that there is a break clause in 2026.

 

Nick has today posted on Facebook that there is a break clause in 2026.

Sounds like a get out of jail card. An escape route if in the end it turns out that the 'interested parties' turn out to be not so interested.

 

this is old news, it was common knowledge about the getout clause a month ago. i think it will be another building annoucement, possible SERCO.

 

Sounds like a get out of jail card. An escape route if in the end it turns out that the 'interested parties' turn out to be not so interested.

Break Clauses were expected but having one so early into the lease isn’t promising.

Ros Jones is releasing an update later this week on the progress in relation to the next steps of the process to reopen DSA,

 

Break Clauses were expected but having one so early into the lease isn’t promising.

Ros Jones is releasing an update later this week on the progress in relation to the next steps of the process to reopen DSA,

I don’t see how a 2 year break clause is a negative? It’s presumably agreed between the lawyers acting in behalf of the Council and by virtue of that the tax payer, and Peel, and it allows the CDC ample time to source an operator but doesn’t tie them in too long if things go pear shaped. I think this is just MP Nick eeking out any last bit of uses of his selfie stick before he crawls back under the rock from whence he came.

 

From the public finances point of view, a lease break in 2026 is a very good thing as if triggered, it will save the public purse a fortune. However, the fact there is one only 2 years after agreeing the lease is highly unusual and suggests that contrary to all the bluster from the Mayors, there is some significant doubt in their minds that their plans will come to fruition.