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...?

 

Seems Conservative Councillors are unhappy as to why CDC is having to fund it. Questions over the terms and length of the loans and what will have to give in Doncaster given they’ll have spent most of their allocated gainshare cash! Also a question was asked about how much private investment will there be as part of this deal. The Mayor has said all will be revealed in Feb - no doubt when she has had time to fathom out a story . CDC are an utter shambles - it seems even Councillors were aware of the construct of the funding until the SAU report. Any decent Council would have built a cross party team to progress the airport work given its importance and the size of funding….I suspect the Mayor didn’t want to do this so she can take all the plaudits - that may not end up being the case….
Also quotes a local resident attending the meeting saying it’s a white elephant, cheaper to fly from MAN even with a taxi and there are better things to spend money on in Doncaster….

Yep as expected the comments on the YP Facebook page blame the YP being in cahoots with LBA I mean it is a Leeds paper after all

 

Yep as expected the comments on the YP Facebook page blame the YP being in cahoots with LBA I mean it is a Leeds paper after all

It is, but one that usually sticks the knife into LBA, so hardly an LBA supporter.

 

Yep as expected the comments on the YP Facebook page blame the YP being in cahoots with LBA I mean it is a Leeds paper after all

and the bad comments about CDC, one lives in coventry, another in burnley and one in spain.
a joke, why would they care if CDC loses or makes money?

 

and the bad comments about CDC, one lives in coventry, another in burnley and one in spain.
a joke, why would they care if CDC loses or makes money?

I don’t know what’s being referred to here, but why does it matter where they’re from? Perhaps people that have no skin in the game are best placed to comment.

Why does this make me think that Matthew Corbett might pop up at the side of her in this video? In fact I got to the end disappointed that this didn’t happen.

 

She is reading that from an autocue, so doesn't have any knowledge of what she is talking about. I will say it again, I'm glad my Council Tax does not go to CDC

 

She is reading that from an autocue, so doesn't have any knowledge of what she is talking about. I will say it again, I'm glad my Council Tax does not go to CDC

Likewise, but this is money from Central Government allocated to the MCA on what I believe is a per capita basis. It will be Coppard who has to approach the treasury to ask for it. I’d love to be a fly on the wall in those meetings over the next few weeks.

It’s at best misleading, in reality they’re actually withholding information now with the intention of misleading the public over what she (they?) call the biggest public investment project in Doncaster in a generation. This cannot continue unchallenged, it’s negligence in my view end as I said before, there are solid grounds here for judicial review as things stand, let alone legal challenges from other airports which sounds like a likely outcome.

The least they could do is link to the SAU report as it’s publicly available and so should be promoted as part of a transparent process, even if they don’t want to tackle the findings raised in it!

 

Likewise, but this is money from Central Government allocated to the MCA on what I believe is a per capita basis. It will be Coppard who has to approach the treasury to ask for it. I’d love to be a fly on the wall in those meetings over the next few weeks.

It’s at best misleading, in reality they’re actually withholding information now with the intention of misleading the public over what she (they?) call the biggest public investment project in Doncaster in a generation. This cannot continue unchallenged, it’s negligence in my view end as I said before, there are solid grounds here for judicial review as things stand, let alone legal challenges from other airports which sounds like a likely outcome.

The least they could do is link to the SAU report as it’s publicly available and so should be promoted as part of a transparent process, even if they don’t want to tackle the findings raised in it!

This process, from start to finish, is about as transparent as mud. They appear to have hidden as much as possible under a cloak of secrecy , using every excuse they could. All this, based on a report from some aviation consultancy - but not the one that seems to be best regarded and which is critical of what's going on.

Gambling £105m in the vain hope that it will turn Doncaster into a hotbed of aviation is plain (or rather, plane) nuts. By all means, reopen the airport if its the private sector taking the risk, but this is desperation. It's like they are prepared to throw away millions to save face.

 

This process, from start to finish, is about as transparent as mud. They appear to have hidden as much as possible under a cloak of secrecy , using every excuse they could. All this, based on a report from some aviation consultancy - but not the one that seems to be best regarded and which is critical of what's going on.

Gambling £105m in the vain hope that it will turn Doncaster into a hotbed of aviation is plain (or rather, plane) nuts. By all means, reopen the airport if its the private sector taking the risk, but this is desperation. It's like they are prepared to throw away millions to save face.

Ultimately it goes back to promises made during a knee jerk reaction when Peel first blindsided them by announcing closure. Although I’m not sure how blindsided they were by it, there were some suggestions at the time that the council and SYMCA had been given a bit of a heads up ahead of time. The £20 million loan or equity offer being a show of no support from the MCA under Dan Jarvis, the evidence of which has been wiped from the records and all FOI requests relating to it appear to have gone unanswered.

Promises made on the back of public outcry, which now that they’re so far in, as far as to become politically tied to the project through risk of losing majority in Doncaster and support for SYMCA, means that this is 100% political now. ‘Businesses’ may support the reopening of the airport, but like the business plan itself, it’s all based on hope and there appears to be no consideration for the what if scenario, what if Peel were right. It’s hard for me to succinctly put into words what I mean, but Peel determined with the help of a number of airport consultancy firms that the airport was fundamentally unviable, they proved this through 17 years of actual operations. No investor is interested. The council are hiding behind a commercial sensitivity cloak of secrecy when it transpires they now don’t need to. They are refusing to publish the SAU findings in full, and the only mention if them is of the tenuous positive feedback they got purely for following the procedure but actually the crucial information that is overwhelmingly negative and throws doubt over the entire project is withheld from their announcements.

I saw her on Calendar tonight, once again saying how it’s a once in a generation investment and how great it’ll be, again no attempt to justify it in the face of overwhelming evidence of its lack of viability. Clearly pre recorded to avoid scrutiny. Fletcher claims 8 challenges were submitted to the SAU, wonder who submitted them and whether there may be more legal challenges..

 

Interesting read, one that the majority of #SaveDSA will ignore.

Chadwick would prefer DSA to open to a third runway at Heathrow? What benefit will that bring to the country? None. Nobody wants to travel to Doncaster. 84% was outbound tourism, the facts are there.

As usual it doesn't fit with the narrative of the DSA brigade so will be ignored.

It does deserve to be challenged. I cant even see DSA taking business from other airports - it will be airlines expanding which will not benefit the environment.

The mechanic has now suggested that LBA and its CEO has “sour grapes” over the use of tax payer money to reopen DSA…

Campaign boss backs council's Doncaster Sheffield Airport rescue plan and criticises 'sour grapes' from rival

There is “genuine public support” for the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport and a potential public subsidy of £90m to allow it to happen will prove money well spent, a leading campaigner has argued.

www.yorkshirepost.co.uk

He really doesn’t have a clue. Comparing it to competition of other garages and showcasing his absolute lack of knowledge of how the Aviation industry actually works and insulting LBA’s CEO at the same time.

 

I don’t know what’s being referred to here, but why does it matter where they’re from? Perhaps people that have no skin in the game are best placed to comment.

Why does this make me think that Matthew Corbett might pop up at the side of her in this video? In fact I got to the end disappointed that this didn’t happen.

And she really thinks she this is a positive contribution to her cause……she should have hung her boots up years ago. This is dreadful!

 

The mechanic has now suggested that LBA and its CEO has “sour grapes” over the use of tax payer money to reopen DSA…

Campaign boss backs council's Doncaster Sheffield Airport rescue plan and criticises 'sour grapes' from rival

There is “genuine public support” for the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport and a potential public subsidy of £90m to allow it to happen will prove money well spent, a leading campaigner has argued.

www.yorkshirepost.co.uk

He really doesn’t have a clue. Comparing it to competition of other garages and showcasing his absolute lack of knowledge of how the Aviation industry actually works and insulting LBA’s CEO at the same time.

I think they’re all waking themselves into disappointment. Whether that’s in the next few months if legal challenges over the subsidy are raised, or in a few years when the airport opens and suddenly there is no cash left for the airport to continue operating and/or there is some major capital infrastructure requirement for which there isn’t the provision because they’ve spaffed all the funds on covering the losses.

If there’s one thing I would be confident in guaranteeing, if this airport opens do NOT expect it to be cheaper than before, if anything it will be more expensive. They just don’t have the backing or the access to funding that Peel did.

 

The mechanic has now suggested that LBA and its CEO has “sour grapes” over the use of tax payer money to reopen DSA…

Campaign boss backs council's Doncaster Sheffield Airport rescue plan and criticises 'sour grapes' from rival

There is “genuine public support” for the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport and a potential public subsidy of £90m to allow it to happen will prove money well spent, a leading campaigner has argued.

www.yorkshirepost.co.uk

He really doesn’t have a clue. Comparing it to competition of other garages and showcasing his absolute lack of knowledge of how the Aviation industry actually works and insulting LBA’s CEO at the same time.

“Campaign Boss” (Facebook Admin) who approached YP himself because they are not interested in him defending the clown fest of Doncaster council

 

Still can't see how it could possibly reopen anyway by Spring next year. They won't even get the funds to confirm go ahead until March. So, from where they are now to passenger flights in 12 months?
No airspace.
No ATC.
No approach lighting.
No fire cover.
No staff of any kind - public facing or admin.
No baggage scanners ( new type)
No retail contracts for the terminal.
No retail shop / eatery facilities.
No car hire
NO AIRLINES!
No ground handling agent.

I have major doubts as to how many skilled aviation staff who have jobs at other airports, will take the risk of giving them up and take a chance on DSA again.

 

Still can't see how it could possibly reopen anyway by Spring next year. They won't even get the funds to confirm go ahead until March. So, from where they are now to passenger flights in 12 months?
No airspace.
No ATC.
No approach lighting.
No fire cover.
No staff of any kind - public facing or admin.
No baggage scanners ( new type)
No retail contracts for the terminal.
No retail shop / eatery facilities.
No car hire
NO AIRLINES!
No ground handling agent.

I have major doubts as to how many skilled aviation staff who have jobs at other airports, will take the risk of giving them up and take a chance on DSA again.

She said it’s going to open before Spring 26 ‘for freight’. They’ve already spent nearly £7million on the project so they will have been getting on with some of the necessary work but I think passenger flights in Spring 26 is fanciful if they don’t get it all sorted in the next 2 months - and that’s assuming they have agreed terms with airlines already,

 

Still can't see how it could possibly reopen anyway by Spring next year. They won't even get the funds to confirm go ahead until March. So, from where they are now to passenger flights in 12 months?
No airspace.
No ATC.
No approach lighting.
No fire cover.
No staff of any kind - public facing or admin.
No baggage scanners ( new type)
No retail contracts for the terminal.
No retail shop / eatery facilities.
No car hire
NO AIRLINES!
No ground handling agent.

I have major doubts as to how many skilled aviation staff who have jobs at other airports, will take the risk of giving them up and take a chance on DSA again.

I also understand that they will struggle to recruit…..my soundings are that people who have secure jobs already are will not be convinced to take a risk to take up a role at DSA given its history. This weeks shenanigans are heard loudly in the industry and do nothing to instil further confidence - this also goes for airline operators…..

She said it’s going to open before Spring 26 ‘for freight’. They’ve already spent nearly £7million on the project so they will have been getting on with some of the necessary work but I think passenger flights in Spring 26 is fanciful if they don’t get it all sorted in the next 2 months - and that’s assuming they have agreed terms with airlines already,

On the grapevine I hear that nobody has had any indication that DSA have been touting airlines at Routes etc….They may have an indicative agreement with TUI but it seems little else….And of course no T&Cs could be finalised until the commercials and contractuals with the Operator and CDC plus funding is confirmed.

 

I also understand that they will struggle to recruit…..my soundings are that people who have secure jobs already are will not be convinced to take a risk to take up a role at DSA given its history. This weeks shenanigans are heard loudly in the industry and do nothing to instil further confidence - this also goes for airline operators…..


On the grapevine I hear that nobody has had any indication that DSA have been touting airlines at Routes etc….They may have an indicative agreement with TUI but it seems little else….And of course no T&Cs could be finalised until the commercials and contractuals with the Operator and CDC plus funding is confirmed.

People keep bringing up KLM. I’m not sure whether this is wishful thinking or whether Eastern have been approached, their commercial director has history with DSA as he previously worked for Linksair (but the less said about them the better!). I’m not convinced KLM would be interested, they never were before and they were a key target for Peel, they even managed to get them into LPL but it lasted less than 2 years. LPL is a much busier airport, see also EMA.

I think you’re right about recruitment. There will always be outliers but often the case that they’re people who would otherwise not be taken seriously elsewhere.

 

People keep bringing up KLM. I’m not sure whether this is wishful thinking or whether Eastern have been approached, their commercial director has history with DSA as he previously worked for Linksair (but the less said about them the better!). I’m not convinced KLM would be interested, they never were before and they were a key target for Peel, they even managed to get them into LPL but it lasted less than 2 years. LPL is a much busier airport, see also EMA.

I think you’re right about recruitment. There will always be outliers but often the case that they’re people who would otherwise not be taken seriously elsewhere.

Surely KLM have enough problems in that they face restrictions in Amsterdam due to “on-off” restrictions on movements from the Dutch government. Eastern will just be contracted to do the flying so won’t have a say in where KLM ultimately flies as this will be decided by KLM.

Recruitment will be a big problem that CDC won’t have considered. Unless they pay over the odds on wages, where will they find ATC staff for example?

 

Why would KLM even contemplate DSA unless they choose to axe either HUY or LBA, which they surely wont. They didn't for 17 years and the situation now is far worse due to the problems at AMS and the airlines' own fleet problems.

 

Surely KLM have enough problems in that they face restrictions in Amsterdam due to “on-off” restrictions on movements from the Dutch government. Eastern will just be contracted to do the flying so won’t have a say in where KLM ultimately flies as this will be decided by KLM.

Recruitment will be a big problem that CDC won’t have considered. Unless they pay over the odds on wages, where will they find ATC staff for example?

When DSA no.1 was given the green light, it took 2 years from that point to open to commercial traffic.

Finningley Airport wins government's approval

www.planningresource.co.uk

Obviously they had a significant construction project to complete, but I seem to recall TUI were a very early announcement, perhaps over a year before the airport opened? I’m certain recruitment will have started quicker. I expect in the case of ATC they might sign up to an external supplier again. But I agree they’re going to have a huge task in their hands to get it all ready before Spring 2026 and this is a council we’re talking about!

 

When DSA no.1 was given the green light, it took 2 years from that point to open to commercial traffic.

Finningley Airport wins government's approval

www.planningresource.co.uk

Obviously they had a significant construction project to complete, but I seem to recall TUI were a very early announcement, perhaps over a year before the airport opened? I’m certain recruitment will have started quicker. I expect in the case of ATC they might sign up to an external supplier again. But I agree they’re going to have a huge task in their hands to get it all ready before Spring 2026 and this is a council we’re talking about!

A council who have an operator waiting in the wings.The big question is whether said operator is taking a gamble and recruiting in advance (unlikely unless anyone has seen any recruitment ads ) or waiting for certainty before recruiting. And surely they need to staff up first before they can start negotiating or letting contracts of any description, let alone recruiting airport staff which need security approval from Government before they even start training.

Terminal works can't start until contracts are let , outlets designed, surveys undertaken, materials ordered and installations completed. This is a huge task that needs a dedicated project team which in all probability doesn't exist .

Airlines will want absolute certainty that the airport is ready to go from a given date. As things stand, I doubt they will have much certainty at all.