Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged his support for the re-opening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA), which is hoping to relaunch passenger flights in spring next year.
Doncaster Council, which has taken over the lease of the airport following former operator Peel’s decision to shut down DSA in November 2022, said it is hopeful ‘up to five’ airlines will ‘come back’ in the future.
Discussions are ongoing with both passenger and freight airlines, said Christian Foster, City of Doncaster Council’s Strategic Programme Lead.
Speaking at a recent council meeting, Christian added: “Obviously for commercial reasons and due to ongoing discussions we are not able to name them currently or go into any further detail however this optimism within the industry bodes well for our airport’s future.”
Airlines that used to operate from DSA include TUI, Wizz and Ryanair.
The council has appointed Munich Airport International, supported by UK avaition specialists FP Airports, to manage the airport, alongside FlyDoncaster, a company set up by the council.
Responding to a question in the House of Commons by Doncaster Central MP Sally Jameson, who wanted to know if the PM backed the reopening of DSA, Sir Keir said: “Yes I will.
“Doncaster’s got a proud industrial heritage – rail, steel and coal – and extraordinary potential for industries of the future from hydrogen to AI and we are focusing on devolving more power to support metro mayors and support industry and we will work with the mayors of Doncaster and South Yorkshire to support efforts to re-open Doncaster Sheffield Airport.”
