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...?

 

Begging bowls are out again for yet more public money - https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/new...t-by-investing-in-road-infrastructure-5361258

Strange really - all the DSA supporters have been keen to point out the fantastic road links this airport already has…….

Why would anyone invest millions into a link just for the airport to most likely barely scrape 1million pax a year? the mind is blown but once again not surprised.

As mentioned i thought DSA was fantastic for links? I did see one reply saying its grid locked between 7-9 am.. well the airport traffic would be avoiding them times soo?

 

Mechanic posting on the page that Peel have sold their shares in LPL and quotes no profit in airports..? (Obviously sarcasm)

Is he actually actually that… nevermind.

Your comparing an apples and pears.. an airports double the size of DSA, more successful, more routes and more airlines. And at one point same owners. Ironic..

I don’t know what else you need to prove to that man that DSA was never ever a commercial success and never will be. MME does NOT profit and is not successful, no matter how much money the mayor is throwing into it / twists jt, which is seems to believe. CWL the same. Small airports down south not profitable.

There is massive turbulent times ahead for the industry and opening and airport that nobody was interested in the first place is comical.

 

Mechanic posting on the page that Peel have sold their shares in LPL and quotes no profit in airports..? (Obviously sarcasm)

Is he actually actually that… nevermind.

Your comparing an apples and pears.. an airports double the size of DSA, more successful, more routes and more airlines. And at one point same owners. Ironic..

I don’t know what else you need to prove to that man that DSA was never ever a commercial success and never will be. MME does NOT profit and is not successful, no matter how much money the mayor is throwing into it / twists jt, which is seems to believe. CWL the same. Small airports down south not profitable.

There is massive turbulent times ahead for the industry and opening and airport that nobody was interested in the first place is comical.

I was coming here to post something similar. It’s odd that he’s scoffing at Peel for selling their shares in the only airport they’ve ever owned that actually saw success. It’s this sort of success that they wanted to replicate at DSA, they won’t even consider why that failed to happen. Peel tried to sell their shares in the airport previously and look how that ended up.

There’s even someone suggesting that they only sold it on because they wouldn’t be able to close it to build houses on. It’s monumentally stupid.

In other news Etihad Cargo are next week to start using EMA.

 

And no sign of DSA in TUi's 2027 summer schedules, which are now on sale.

 

I was coming here to post something similar. It’s odd that he’s scoffing at Peel for selling their shares in the only airport they’ve ever owned that actually saw success. It’s this sort of success that they wanted to replicate at DSA, they won’t even consider why that failed to happen. Peel tried to sell their shares in the airport previously and look how that ended up.

There’s even someone suggesting that they only sold it on because they wouldn’t be able to close it to build houses on. It’s monumentally stupid.

In other news Etihad Cargo are next week to start using EMA.

Add to that he seems to ignore the point that many of the Senior Management team at DSA that he has previously blamed for the failure of that airport either had joint responsibility for DSA & LPL or came to DSA from LPL. These staff have been instrumental to the expansion and success of LPL….

 

Add to that he seems to ignore the point that many of the Senior Management team at DSA that he has previously blamed for the failure of that airport either had joint responsibility for DSA & LPL or came to DSA from LPL. These staff have been instrumental to the expansion and success of LPL….

Some of the management appear to still be employed at DSA too.. But Steve Gill jumped ship (after initially being involved in the transformation of LPL he moved over to DSA) and look at what he’s achieved at Bournemouth.

 

Some of the management appear to still be employed at DSA too.. But Steve Gill jumped ship (after initially being involved in the transformation of LPL he moved over to DSA) and look at what he’s achieved at Bournemouth.

Declan Maguire is now Aviation Director at LBA and today had the pleasure of announcing a new airline and route He was also at DSA and no doubt (some would claim) doing all he could to not secure any airlines so they could close DSA down.

 

Mechanic posting on the page that Peel have sold their shares in LPL and quotes no profit in airports..? (Obviously sarcasm)

Is he actually actually that… nevermind.

Your comparing an apples and pears.. an airports double the size of DSA, more successful, more routes and more airlines. And at one point same owners. Ironic..

I don’t know what else you need to prove to that man that DSA was never ever a commercial success and never will be. MME does NOT profit and is not successful, no matter how much money the mayor is throwing into it / twists jt, which is seems to believe. CWL the same. Small airports down south not profitable.

There is massive turbulent times ahead for the industry and opening and airport that nobody was interested in the first place is comical.

I think that SYMCA have always been aware of the very significant financial risk - having had several Consultants' reports - but went ahead with a political (not financial) decision hoping for the (financial) best which is why I suspect that the costed business plan has not been made public. The gentleman in question exerts a 'Putinesque' control over the narrative posting selective stuff which he knows will draw an 'anti Peel' or anti neighbouring airports rhetoric but at the end of the day will not affect the realities of the ongoing situation one bit! One should concede however that he has done an excellent job promoting the objective of saving DSA although sometimes with ambiguous or at worst misleading posts from his political allies.
For some time the industry has been hinting that all is not well with cancellations/sales etc. and the economic situation seems unlikely to improve in the short term - as you allude to if it doesn't - it has the potential to leave an even bigger scar on their ar**s than it might otherwise have done! However - there will always be someone else to blame - that's politics!!

And no sign of DSA in TUi's 2027 summer schedules, which are now on sale.

I noted that the opening has now slipped to 'late 2026' and the Mayor is on record as saying that folk will be able to start booking at that point. That might suggest to me that TUI (or someone else) may have intimated that they might put in some flights in 2028 - assuming the airfield is licensed and equipped as that would be the time that the 2028 programmes are released. However (and not a politically angled comment) - I personally would not rely on anything this Mayor says!

 

And the longer it remains in this limbo state the more it drains the available finances. Another year minimum now of no income.......mmmmmmm

 

@GolfFox a good summary. I note that Chadwick has regurgitated that story about the £20million ‘loan request’ again by saying that Peel asked for it but when asked to ‘open their books’ they decided they didn’t need the loan any longer. This is untrue, just by way of reminder what actually happened was SYMCA got their financial advisors to review it and determined that it was a high risk investment with little likelihood that the airport would ever be profitable. This was documented but has since disappeared from the SYMCA website.

Also note that DFP is today reporting that Peels applications for housing developments bordering the DSA site have been deferred because councillors couldn’t vote in confidence. Pretty sure a lot of the good will shown by Peel has been on the understanding of support for their other developments forming part of the Gateway East vision, of which housing is a major aspect!

 

Interesting also to see the CEO of Cardiff has walked away from his role and they are now on their third in less than a year - airports really do thrive under public ownership…….https://www.business-live.co.uk/enterprise/new-chief-executive-welsh-government-32622708.amp

Not the third. Andy Jones was appointed as an interim measure whilst a permanent Chief Executive was being recruited.
MAN is failing miserably under public ownership, isn't it ...

 

Not the third. Andy Jones was appointed as an interim measure whilst a permanent Chief Executive was being recruited.
MAN is failing miserably under public ownership, isn't it ...

How can you even compare MAN (and MAG) to CWL? MAN isn’t even 100% publicly owned.

Is this one of those other stupid examples of ‘well x airport was publicly owned at one point’?

CWL is proving that it can’t support its own operations so needs £millions thrown at it, the same will be the case with DSA. MAG is a profitable enterprise operated at arms length and returns profit to its shareholders. If for whatever reason MAN became a burden to the Greater Manchester authorities then it would probably be sold off. However it’s a legacy of decades past, and it’s just not how airport infrastructure is operated in the U.K. in the 21st century.

 

If for whatever reason MAN became a burden to the Greater Manchester authorities then it would probably be sold off.

Clairvoyant, are you?

 

And no sign of DSA in TUi's 2027 summer schedules, which are now on sale.

I thought that it had been said that the airport wouldn't open until winter '26/7 with commercial flights from April 2028.

 

Does Manchester pay airlines public money to fly from there? I’m not sure of the basis for the comparison, maybe someone could explain?

 

Does Manchester pay airlines public money to fly from there? I’m not sure of the basis for the comparison, maybe someone could explain?

Quing4theloo is clearly a bit of a joker. No Manchester does not do this. It also doesn’t take a crystal ball to determine the fate of DSA, just got to look at all the failed attempts to make something stick and lack of private sector interest to see it’s nothing than a political vanity project.

 

The set up for DSA is doomed.

Private Investors saying that due to the Lease option the Council took on means it is very hard to make case for investing in buildings as it would be a long chain of sub leases which then becomes a minefield. As Peel (Owner)- CDC (Leaseholder) - FlyDoncaster (sub lease), then potentially Airport operations (another stage of sub lease) - Private Investor (another sub sub lease). How many tiers from the ownership level to the private investor and with the CDC unwillingly wanting to part with any shareholding of the airport company it stacks up to an unfriendly environment for investors.

Just look up the road at Teesside where the TVCA went for full freehold ownership model. With just one owner to go through Private Investors are ploughing their cash into building hangars and buildings with land leases ranging from 20-250 years. The ease of transparency when dealing with one layer of ownership, whereas in DSA's case it is a very convoluted into a multi layer saga with no long term guarantees.

Since Peel started looking at Reviewing DSA operations, up on Teesside 6 new hangars have been built/ in build and looks like at least another 9-10 hangars expected with at least two of them being wide body hangars (one maintenance and one paint shop). Private Investors have the confidence of investing their own money into projects at Teesside Airport as the model works for them.

Private Investors are wanting certainty and confidence to be able to invest, which so far is not there in DSA's case.

 

The set up for DSA is doomed.

Private Investors saying that due to the Lease option the Council took on means it is very hard to make case for investing in buildings as it would be a long chain of sub leases which then becomes a minefield. As Peel (Owner)- CDC (Leaseholder) - FlyDoncaster (sub lease), then potentially Airport operations (another stage of sub lease) - Private Investor (another sub sub lease). How many tiers from the ownership level to the private investor and with the CDC unwillingly wanting to part with any shareholding of the airport company it stacks up to an unfriendly environment for investors.

Just look up the road at Teesside where the TVCA went for full freehold ownership model. With just one owner to go through Private Investors are ploughing their cash into building hangars and buildings with land leases ranging from 20-250 years. The ease of transparency when dealing with one layer of ownership, whereas in DSA's case it is a very convoluted into a multi layer saga with no long term guarantees.

Since Peel started looking at Reviewing DSA operations, up on Teesside 6 new hangars have been built/ in build and looks like at least another 9-10 hangars expected with at least two of them being wide body hangars (one maintenance and one paint shop). Private Investors have the confidence of investing their own money into projects at Teesside Airport as the model works for them.

Private Investors are wanting certainty and confidence to be able to invest, which so far is not there in DSA's case.

I agree - the difference of course is that Peel sold the airfield to TVCA whereas for whatever reason they retained ownership of DSA which made it very difficult for CDC to avoid the situation they are now in given the route they chose.

 

I agree - the difference of course is that Peel sold the airfield to TVCA whereas for whatever reason they retained ownership of DSA which made it very difficult for CDC to avoid the situation they are now in given the route they chose.

It’s just a cost thing. The value of MME including the amount invested into it by Peel during their ownership of it was £40million, so objectively more affordable to a local/combined authority.

DSA, where they invested over £300million, perhaps not so affordable even if the sale price was negotiable. Think Peel know it’s not viable but as long as it costs them nothing, and they are getting support for the developments they previously had planned for the hinterland, they will of course support the council and SYMCA in reopening the airport. I see no way for DSA to replicate what’s happening at MME without the investment of many more £millions above the headline figure, they’re just backing themselves into a corner and they’ve paid yes men to help them get here.

 

It’s just a cost thing. The value of MME including the amount invested into it by Peel during their ownership of it was £40million, so objectively more affordable to a local/combined authority.

DSA, where they invested over £300million, perhaps not so affordable even if the sale price was negotiable. Think Peel know it’s not viable but as long as it costs them nothing, and they are getting support for the developments they previously had planned for the hinterland, they will of course support the council and SYMCA in reopening the airport. I see no way for DSA to replicate what’s happening at MME without the investment of many more £millions above the headline figure, they’re just backing themselves into a corner and they’ve paid yes men to help them get here.

There's a limited demand for the sort of things being put in at Teesside. Various UK airports already have maintenance centres and aircraft painting companies. Norwich and East Midlands are two and now Teesside. There are plenty in Ireland too and on the continent, and no doubt airlines will be driving a hard bargain when negotiating contracts. So once again, DSA is arguably late to the party and may find that there's little interest in investing in something that's already covered elsewhere.