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...?

 

Are SYMCA obliged to publish the FBC before they can approve it?? I know nothing of such procedures. It seems odd that they can continue NOT to publish anything - if indeed a 'decision' is that close, they must already have made up their minds behind the scenes so what's the problem??

Not sure. You’d have thought it would need to be made available for public consumption even with redactions where necessary. The fact they haven’t done this is concerning. Even the TVCA had published their business plans ISTR during the purchase phase, though u could be wrong.

They’re riding on the wave of the apparent public support by trying to force it through, but how much of that public support would be remaining with the facts laid bare for all to see? The risks that have been openly mentioned in previous OBCs have gone unnoticed and unreported, almost as if it’s a foregone conclusion that the airport will with if only it had the right management team.

Interesting that Declan Maguire has been appointed Aviation Director at LBA recently, he has vast experience including working for Peel and in trying develop airline relationships at DSA. If I were to read between the lines I would suggest his appointment is more than just based on his experience and perhaps he adds tactical value. He has of course held a position with York Aviation in the interim!

If/when the funding is approved they’re going to feel the full weight of the competition and perhaps even the legal challenges that may arise over the valid concerns regarding market distortion. I hope they’re ready for this, my gut tells me they’re not at all!

 

Not sure. You’d have thought it would need to be made available for public consumption even with redactions where necessary. The fact they haven’t done this is concerning. Even the TVCA had published their business plans ISTR during the purchase phase, though u could be wrong.

The TVCA played an absolute blinder by releasing the 10 Year Business Plan for public consumption before the vote by the five Council Leaders for the TVCA Investment Plan. The avalanche of public comments that filled the Leaders email inboxes and postal trays was huge. I had people coming into my workplace and stopping me in the street asking me questions and clarifications about bits of the plan, just so they were able to more confidently write up their support and send it in to their Council Leaders.

But in TVCA's case it was to buy the Airport fully. Even if the plan failed it would be able to recoup some money as they owned the land to dispose of.

In the case of CDC it is a lease they have on the airport and own absolutely nothing that would recoup anything of significance, as anything owned would be sold to pay creditors.

So in CDC/ SYMCA's case it is a totally different and much much harder business model to overcome and sell to the public, compared to that of TVCA's.

I think it is that hard sell with no fall back plan if things go wrong and that the public would shoot holes into it. Is probably the reason why the business plan hasn't been published for the public to view and comment upon.

 

The TVCA played an absolute blinder by releasing the 10 Year Business Plan for public consumption before the vote by the five Council Leaders for the TVCA Investment Plan. The avalanche of public comments that filled the Leaders email inboxes and postal trays was huge. I had people coming into my workplace and stopping me in the street asking me questions and clarifications about bits of the plan, just so they were able to more confidently write up their support and send it in to their Council Leaders.

But in TVCA's case it was to buy the Airport fully. Even if the plan failed it would be able to recoup some money as they owned the land to dispose of.

In the case of CDC it is a lease they have on the airport and own absolutely nothing that would recoup anything of significance, as anything owned would be sold to pay creditors.

So in CDC/ SYMCA's case it is a totally different and much much harder business model to overcome and sell to the public, compared to that of TVCA's.

I think it is that hard sell with no fall back plan if things go wrong and that the public would shoot holes into it. Is probably the reason why the business plan hasn't been published for the public to view and comment upon.

i sure TVCA airport business plan was not available to the general public.

 

i sure TVCA airport business plan was not available to the general public.

Yes it was actually - it was made public quite some time before the vote. As alluded to by @Stagman this appeared to promote much public support. Of course there is some public support for DSA Mk2 but at the moment the public have no idea of the detail of that which they are supporting having been fed a cocktail of some fact, lots of spin spin, and some stuff which can only be described as misleading, hence my earlier post as to whether SYMCA are obliged to make the Business Plan public before the vote. It works both ways of course - I noticed a surprising number of negative comments on the 'main' campaign page who might change their minds if in possession of the full detail - on the other hand there may be some blindly supporting the re-opening who themselves might change their mind if they have the full detail. The original Business Plan submitted to the SAU did not - in spite of the spin from CDC - get a very good review in their subsequent report which is in the public domain and therefore much is likely to have changed within it in order to avoid legal challenge. Just how it looks now is uncertain which prompted my earlier post as to whether SYCMA are obliged to publish it beforehand.

 

i sure TVCA airport business plan was not available to the general public.

It certainly was made available to the public, it was released on the TVCA website at the time. Both the Business Case for Purchase, Airport Business Plan and Property Consultants Report. 225 pages altogether, with redactions.

 

sorry im wrong i thought they only put the plan to the local councils.
when and if DSA happens. im as interested in the aviation business they are hoping to attract, as much as the airlines they hope for. they keep banging on about that and nothing seems to be made clear who they are. it was a big blow with Holtec, but then again ,thay have nothing to do with aviation.

 

sorry im wrong i thought they only put the plan to the local councils.
when and if DSA happens. im as interested in the aviation business they are hoping to attract, as much as the airlines they hope for. they keep banging on about that and nothing seems to be made clear who they are. it was a big blow with Holtec, but then again ,thay have nothing to do with aviation.

There are none as far as I’m aware, except of course 2Excel who are already there and of course support reopening because they have a vested interest in its reopening. Imagine the staffing problems if they suddenly moved everything elsewhere… There are often comments about how Humberside can survive but Doncaster ‘apparently’ can’t. It’s very simple, they have a core aviation business that pays lots of money for the location. DSA doesn’t have that.

Some people have suggested positive noises coming from ‘interim management’ but I’m not sure who that is, Christian Foster? And that we will be surprised about some of the plans. Whose plans? Show themselves before Gainshare is granted in that case!

 

Let’s get it open and let me sit back and watch..

Let’s watch the airlines flooding in

The comments on the support page are beyond hilarious to read the “logic” of these aviation experts.

The interviewing of irrelevant business owners pledging support is very amusing, not sure what Alicante and Palma are going to do to support your business, but yes, let’s go with it !

 

Let’s get it open and let me sit back and watch..

Let’s watch the airlines flooding in

The comments on the support page are beyond hilarious to read the “logic” of these aviation experts.

The interviewing of irrelevant business owners pledging support is very amusing, not sure what Alicante and Palma are going to do to support your business, but yes, let’s go with it !

Didn’t they tell you? ‘All they have to do is ask Quantas, Delta and Emirates to come in and it’ll be job done’. One wonders why Peel missed this simple trick? Oh yes ‘it’s because they wanted the £56million road scheme to be in place so they could turn it into something else, so they ploughed £300million into it to get the roads in place, they did contribute a further £19million towards those roads but let’s gloss over that. Did you know the only reason Virgin aren’t there now is because Peel told them to go away? The management were resistant that’s the problem here!’

You’d have thought these business owners/leaders would understand the pure idiocy of the conspiracy theorists. Sadly they dont, so support it they must cos global connectivity and stuff. People who should know better have even blamed Peel for some utter BS like them not being willing to invest or showing resistance. I’ve worked for a couple of major airlines in my time and every single investment proposal is scrutinised at the very top. Don’t make a solid need case and they’ll tell you to go whistle. Both airlines had/have a healthy cash flow and they are still resistant to spending on things that are high risk or won’t see a sufficient return. The owners of an airport that was losing £10 million in operating costs alone per year is going to be highly skeptical when their (highly capable) accountable managers go asking for them to release some funds from the bottomless pit of money so they can build a freight integrator facility cos some freight operator said they might be interested in using it. Or some airline says they might put one aircraft in there but in return they want to pay nothing yet not generate enough volume to even cover the costs of hosting their services, let alone the balancing act of keeping your long term partners happy - particularly when you’re in the process of investing in some new contact gates for a long term contract that the airline in question couldn’t fulfill!! No, the armchair experts (and people who really should know better) will tell you differently and it’s ok because under a management that ‘know’ what they’re doing it’ll all be fine.

That’s the business case summed up in a nutshell. If only the public knew exactly what they were supporting. Call me cynical but perhaps this is why they’ve refused to release any detailed business case for the public to review, because they want to reopen it and expect business as usual, only business as usual in this case was a financial disaster!

 

this from Heidi Alexandrer
The case to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport is “really strong”, the Transport Secretary has said, before confirming that she “stands ready” to make sure the project is a success.

sounds positive

 

this from Heidi Alexandrer
The case to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport is “really strong”, the Transport Secretary has said, before confirming that she “stands ready” to make sure the project is a success.

sounds positive

Sounds like a kiss of death to me.

 

this from Heidi Alexandrer
The case to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport is “really strong”, the Transport Secretary has said, before confirming that she “stands ready” to make sure the project is a success.

sounds positive

Sounds like total bull**** to me. Heidi Alexander is in no position to make sure its a success. Zero influence over airlines and quite simply, no airlines, or insufficient flights means bankruptcy not too far down the line.

 

Sounds like total bull**** to me. Heidi Alexander is in no position to make sure its a success. Zero influence over airlines and quite simply, no airlines, or insufficient flights means bankruptcy not too far down the line.

Basically the article has a statement from her along the lines of the airport can link up with air services to other parts of the U.K. and further afield and apparently she’s supportive of it because Ros Jones says it’ll have an ROI of 9:1 etc etc. At no point is it mentioned that airlines have been consulted and any detailed demand analysis has been completed. It appears it’s just simply a case of having loads of passengers use it and therefore the ROI follows.

This is a political project led by local Labour leaders. Of course the Labour PM and his Transport Secretary are going to throw their weight behind it. Coppard is getting all the legal aspects ironed out to try to prevent any challenges that will result in a delay or cancellation of the project, but meanwhile LBA has appointed Declan Maguire in a strategic move in anticipation of DSA reopening and trying to compete. He knows exactly what the problems were before and will promote this to airlines in his position at LBA. These are the nuances you should be focussing on @rabbitfoot and not what some politician is saying in support of her colleagues.

 

this from Heidi Alexandrer
The case to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport is “really strong”, the Transport Secretary has said, before confirming that she “stands ready” to make sure the project is a success.

sounds positive

Except of course if the case is “really strong” why does she need to be ready to make sure it’s a success?? Typical political nonsense…..

 

Interesting post from Richard Sully who is a former SYMCA advisor on LinkedIn yesterday. I won’t post it in full but in summary he quoted Dan Fell and one of his seemingly meaningless ramblings about how proper engagement between a new DSA and the business community is ‘key’ to unlocking the potential of the airport.

Sully interpreted that as they also have not been privy to any information relating to the FBC and that therefore they are basing their assumptions on ‘hope, vibes and trickle down economics and that things will be different this time’.

He also went on to say he believes it’s a foregone conclusion and that he feels sorry for the officers tasked to ‘make it make sense’ and that he cannot understand how information hasn’t been made public for scrutiny which just seems wrong. Too many political promises resting on it obviously,

He did say there is still time and that there’s a slight possibility that they’ll ’see sense’. Seems some of the Doncaster Chamber members were against the reopening but it’s not mentioned who or why they opposed it.

So someone with experience within SYMCA and understands the mechanisms has voiced concerns. Let’s hope the airports that will be challenged by this lodge a legal challenge, judging by the mechanics latest diatribe he seems to be angling at that too.

 

this from Heidi Alexandrer
The case to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport is “really strong”, the Transport Secretary has said, before confirming that she “stands ready” to make sure the project is a success.

sounds positive

I think the only people that can make the airport a success are the airlines - over whom Ms Alexander has no control whatsoever. It's this sort of political rubbish that promotes enhanced expectation. The 'aviation' case is not strong as some folk on here - who might appear superficially negative - but are knowledgeable as they work in (or have close association) with the industry well know. It seemed from tit bits of the original business case made public that the airport and Gateway East project had been joined at the hip - a point made by the SAU who could not see a boundary line between the two and of which they were critical. As far as a Gateway East 'stand alone' project is concerned I don't know enough to have a meaningful opinion but 'gut feeling' suggests to me that's where the jobs will be coming from, Have no idea what Ms Alexander thinks she can do to make sure the project is a success unless preparing to become 'Blunder Woman Mk 2' and pumping more money in.
At the end of the day, none of us can make a judgement until the Business Case that Oliver Coppard is clearly struggling with is published. I noticed Mr Chadwick reported that he had spoken to OC and was told that they were trying to get the numbers right! The numbers are the numbers and tell the story that either it is viable or it isn't. This reported wording clearly - to me at least - means he is trying to manipulate the numbers to make it look OK under the political pressure he is clearly under.
Come on OC let us see the FBC - surely it will have to be published for public scrutiny before decision day - or is that simply 'announcement day'? Can he commit (or otherwise) without allowing any scrutiny of the plan?? I personally don't know!

 

I think the only people that can make the airport a success are the airlines - over whom Ms Alexander has no control whatsoever. It's this sort of political rubbish that promotes enhanced expectation. The 'aviation' case is not strong as some folk on here - who might appear superficially negative - but are knowledgeable as they work in (or have close association) with the industry well know. It seemed from tit bits of the original business case made public that the airport and Gateway East project had been joined at the hip - a point made by the SAU who could not see a boundary line between the two and of which they were critical. As far as a Gateway East 'stand alone' project is concerned I don't know enough to have a meaningful opinion but 'gut feeling' suggests to me that's where the jobs will be coming from, Have no idea what Ms Alexander thinks she can do to make sure the project is a success unless preparing to become 'Blunder Woman Mk 2' and pumping more money in.
At the end of the day, none of us can make a judgement until the Business Case that Oliver Coppard is clearly struggling with is published. I noticed Mr Chadwick reported that he had spoken to OC and was told that they were trying to get the numbers right! The numbers are the numbers and tell the story that either it is viable or it isn't. This reported wording clearly - to me at least - means he is trying to manipulate the numbers to make it look OK under the political pressure he is clearly under.
Come on OC let us see the FBC - surely it will have to be published for public scrutiny before decision day - or is that simply 'announcement day'? Can he commit (or otherwise) without allowing any scrutiny of the plan?? I personally don't know!

 

All good points @GolfFox and you are correct to point out the negatives on this page, but I do think it’s highly disingenuous of the council and SYMCA to force the numbers and greenwash it in a hollow attempt to appease those of a climate change concern position.

Fact is that Peel couldn’t make it work, Vantage couldn’t make it work. This is a fact not a conspiracy. Some may say that Peel didn’t know what they were doing or that some decisions were made that impacted the viability of DSA but I feel that’s straw clutching particularly when you look at some of the people they had appointed during the DSA 1.0 era who have clearly gone off to make their mark at other airports/airlines. When I say people this Peel didn’t know what they were doing I’m talking about the decision not to enter into favourable terms with a low cost airline who wanted to put one aircraft into there. Or the thing about Amazon Prime and some tie up there. Fact is that if DSA was to be a success to the level it appears they think it will be it wouldn’t need to scratch around for airline partnerships, they’d be readily available. That they aren’t in the 17 years it was open proves the viability is a fallacy. Now that they plan to sink more into it to reopen, considering the previous, you’d have thought they’d need a super water tight plan with tangible changes in airline and passenger demand. The fact that they are ‘trying to get the numbers right’ just proves the point that they clearly aren’t right and that therefore the same issues will arise again and/or they’ll be exacerbated.

 

Coppard is, in conjunction with Yorkshire Post, to hold a live Q&A on the reopening of DSA next Wednesday which he is advertising as an opportunity to discuss the work ‘they’ve’ done and continue to do to reopen DSA and ‘create a world leading sustainable aviation hub at Gateway East’. Proof if any were needed that he and the board is going to say yes on 9th September.

What with the CLEUD findings this could become quite an interesting development for LBA, particularly as Jet2 will be planning on what they’re going to do if the findings are enforced.

 

‘create a world leading sustainable aviation hub at Gateway East’

this is what i cannot understand.
it is quoted all the time, but no one as seemed to show the slightest interest in moving there.
who do they think is going to set up at DSA?
they must have someone in mind,