Doncaster Sheffield Airport to reopen?

[BoroAndy]

They claim TUI are interested, but they have aircraft shortage issues and when DSA was open it was the least popular crew base amongst other things, but if the funding is approved in spite of the SAU findings then I suppose we will see what happens in the coming months. Spring 2026 opening would need a fairly lengthy lead in time to get holidays on sale, probably as early as May which isn’t far away. Miss that and they will miss the opportunity for up to another year. But the SAU report linked to earlier up thread clearly states that the Eastern European market is something CDC see as theirs and one of their core growth markets, and that LBA have effectively borrowed it whilst the airport has been temporarily closed. I’m sure LBA don’t see it that way.

No airport will relieve congestion at LHR, the only way to relieve congestion there is to expand. There are plenty of large airports in the U.K. that could comfortably host the extra capacity without any investment whatsoever, but the airlines are not interested. People who say things like DSA being the answer to the problem need to give their heads a wobble and go and talk about something else. It’s nonsense and there is empirical evidence to show this is the case.

I was listening to a debate on 5Live this morning, arguing for 3rd runway at LHR, yet others argued Rachel from Accounts would get her growth quicker if capacity at northern airports was used instead rather than investing in London yet again. Then, surprise, someone rang in from Doncaster. Apparently, they think there is still a runway there. Interesting.

 

[thejuggler]

There is still a runway there, an aircraft used it in December.

 

[westv]

There is still a runway there, an aircraft used it in December.

I am amazed anybody would think otherwise!

 

[pug1]

Amidst all the excitement that central Gvt have said they will ‘support’ the reopening of DSA (whatever that means, they haven’t offered any money!), it’s interesting to note that Oliver Coppard of SYMCA has today said that a final decision on the project will be made ‘in the summer’. This after Ros Jones said only last Wednesday that the airport will be open to passenger flights in spring 2026.

Ambitious would be the diplomatic word.

 

[BrianW]

I note the absence of enthusiasm on this thread for The Chancellor's enthusiastic support for reopening, despite the headlines given to it in the media

 

[mpthomson]

Amidst all the excitement that central Gvt have said they will ‘support’ the reopening of DSA (whatever that means, they haven’t offered any money!), it’s interesting to note that Oliver Coppard of SYMCA has today said that a final decision on the project will be made ‘in the summer’. This after Ros Jones said only last Wednesday that the airport will be open to passenger flights in spring 2026.

Ambitious would be the diplomatic word.

Also, Michael O’Leary answered a direct question at a press conference today over whether Ryanair would fly from a reopened DSA. A direct no was the response, they already serve the area from LBA. This is second hand info and I’m awaiting someting to cite on here to confirm.

Indeed, supporting the reopening doesn’t mean airlines will want to fly from it if it serves them no purpose.

Reeves is flailing around at the moment after effectively tanking the economy and has just linked this to LHR3 as a bit of good news for the shires so that they don’t get accused of just pumping money into the south.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Was discussing the airport situation with my mum yesterday after seeing the report on Look North. She used DSA back when it was open, and felt it was a nice airport from a passenger perspective... however she only used it once because there happened to be a suitable flight from there for a particular trip- her and my dad also used a variety of other airports if they had the cheaper or better-timed flights for their intended destination. I suspect my parents use case is fairly representative- people won't restrict their holidays just to places accessible from their nearest airport, they'll book the trip they want and then work out how to get to whichever airport they'll be departing from.

Regional airports are massive financial black-holes for the most part, but they look good in the Metro Mayor campaigns. I'd rather a reliable bus service that doesn't leave me twiddling my thumbs in a windswept deserted town centre for an hour, but that doesn't grab the votes.

 

[pug1]

Was discussing the airport situation with my mum yesterday after seeing the report on Look North. She used DSA back when it was open, and felt it was a nice airport from a passenger perspective... however she only used it once because there happened to be a suitable flight from there for a particular trip- her and my dad also used a variety of other airports if they had the cheaper or better-timed flights for their intended destination. I suspect my parents use case is fairly representative- people won't restrict their holidays just to places accessible from their nearest airport, they'll book the trip they want and then work out how to get to whichever airport they'll be departing from.

Regional airports are massive financial black-holes for the most part, but they look good in the Metro Mayor campaigns. I'd rather a reliable bus service that doesn't leave me twiddling my thumbs in a windswept deserted town centre for an hour, but that doesn't grab the votes.

This is true. A report that may emerge soon has found that the catchment area overlap is so significant that this is a core reason why DSA failed first time around. This was confirmed by MoL yesterday. Passengers just want to find flights that are where they want to get to, at the right times and at good value. If someone lives in Sheffield the chances are they’re most likely to find what they want from Manchester. TUI got away with charging a premium for the convenience of DSA but they did this at the expense of HUY and LBA. But charter flights are easier to manage than scheduled ones because they’re less frequent and thus capacity can be shifted around based on demand.

On the other hand could KLM get away with charging a premium from DSA in the hope that passengers from Sheffield would use it rather than just do what they’ve always done and headed over to MAN? The convenience argument becomes weaker the closer you get to other options.

The report I’m referencing basically confirms that Peel had a policy of underwriting airlines losses when they committed to route expansion and ultimately based at DSA and LPL. It worked at LPL because the flights were inherently more popular, it didn’t work at DSA because the flights weren’t.

All this noise about DSA having the potential to become the hub of the north is just meaningless fluff and is a distraction from the genuine crucial questions that remain unanswered.

I would also question why the media and the proponents themselves haven’t acknowledged the words of MoL from yesterday. It’s a warning to them and to the people of South Yorkshire that they’re blindly supporting a dud that is likely to end up with hundreds of millions of £’s simply written off.

The economic argument is BS, the regions relative deprivation even increased 2016-19 when the airport was open and reported continual growth year on year.

For those interested, here’s what O’Leary had to say.

 

[mpthomson]

This is true. A report that may emerge soon has found that the catchment area overlap is so significant that this is a core reason why DSA failed first time around. This was confirmed by MoL yesterday. Passengers just want to find flights that are where they want to get to, at the right times and at good value. If someone lives in Sheffield the chances are they’re most likely to find what they want from Manchester. TUI got away with charging a premium for the convenience of DSA but they did this at the expense of HUY and LBA. But charter flights are easier to manage than scheduled ones because they’re less frequent and thus capacity can be shifted around based on demand.

On the other hand could KLM get away with charging a premium from DSA in the hope that passengers from Sheffield would use it rather than just do what they’ve always done and headed over to MAN? The convenience argument becomes weaker the closer you get to other options.

The report I’m referencing basically confirms that Peel had a policy of underwriting airlines losses when they committed to route expansion and ultimately based at DSA and LPL. It worked at LPL because the flights were inherently more popular, it didn’t work at DSA because the flights weren’t.

All this noise about DSA having the potential to become the hub of the north is just meaningless fluff and is a distraction from the genuine crucial questions that remain unanswered.

I would also question why the media and the proponents themselves haven’t acknowledged the words of MoL from yesterday. It’s a warning to them and to the people of South Yorkshire that they’re blindly supporting a dud that is likely to end up with hundreds of millions of £’s simply written off.

The economic argument is BS, the regions relative deprivation even increased 2016-19 when the airport was open and reported continual growth year on year.

For those interested, here’s what O’Leary had to say.

KLM already operate feeders from MME, NCL, LBA, MAN, HUY and EMA so I don't think DSA would offer even them anything. It would just be additional flights and costs to target the same number of passengers that they have now, given that they'd still operate flights from MAN.

 

[thejuggler]

There's a good website which provides estimates of population within a radius of a single point which clearly demonstrates DSA problem. tomforth.co.uk/circlepopulations

A radius of 20 miles largely reduces overlap between major alternative airports, so could be classed as the 'local' catchment, beyond that distance choice increases.

Leeds 2.5m
East Midlands 2.5m
Manchester 3.7m
Liverpool 2.6m, but significant overlap with Manchester.
Birmingham 4m

DSA 1.5m

There's an argument with Newcastle and Bristol at 1.6m, but both benefit from no overlap competition within 50 miles.

50 miles from DSA is 9.1m, but that then brings in LBA, EMA and MAN as alternative airports.

DSA challenge is squaring this circle. They need a USP to attract passengers (which when I used it they did as they attracted BMIbaby and some new destinations), they focus on freight or they increase the population of the 20 mile radius to 2.5m and generate a critical mass of potential demand!

 

[westv]

There's a good website which provides estimates of population within a radius of a single point which clearly demonstrates DSA problem. tomforth.co.uk/circlepopulations

A radius of 20 miles largely reduces overlap between major alternative airports, so could be classed as the 'local' catchment, beyond that distance choice increases.

Leeds 2.5m
East Midlands 2.5m
Manchester 3.7m
Liverpool 2.6m, but significant overlap with Manchester.
Birmingham 4m

DSA 1.5m

That's an interesting website. I see 1.5m seems to be similar to Southend. How is that doing?.

 

[pug1]

That's an interesting website. I see 1.5m seems to be similar to Southend. How is that doing?.

Southend is close to London and has a high propensity for both outbound and inbound travel. Doncaster is a small city with problems of economic deprivation with basically zero inbound traffic potential.

So why try compare how Southend is going? Anyway if you must know they’ve just secured a deal with easyjet to reopen its base, but it list its Ryanair base and its total throughout will be something like 50% of peak value 6 years ago in the best case. So even with London within close proximity, it’s not the most sustainable operation.

I encourage you all to read the attached in detail.

 

[thejuggler]

For avoidance of doubt, despite what paragraph 2.8 of that report says I did not write it!

 

[pug1]

For avoidance of doubt, despite what paragraph 2.8 of that report says I did not write it!

Nor did I. I understand this report was posted on a closed Facebook group who’s aim is to support the reopening of the airport, they have of course questioned who has commissioned the report and suggested LBA were behind it. This is not the case, LBA made their own submission to the SAU as did Regional and City Airports (RCA) who currently have no local assets, but nonetheless highlight the national impact of airport competition, particularly in receipt of public subsidy.

Interestingly RCA were one of the groups initially touted by the DSA proponents of the perfect operator/investor. That they’re clearly not interested, and if anything completely against it, really does speak volumes. They know the market being a specialist U.K. regional airport operator. This advice must be heeded.

 

[BrianW]

Southend is close to London and has a high propensity for both outbound and inbound travel. Doncaster is a small city with problems of economic deprivation with basically zero inbound traffic potential.

So why try compare how Southend is going? Anyway if you must know they’ve just secured a deal with easyjet to reopen its base, but it list its Ryanair base and its total throughout will be something like 50% of peak value 6 years ago in the best case. So even with London within close proximity, it’s not the most sustainable operation.

I encourage you all to read the attached in detail.

The report produced by York Aviation LLP is indeed interesting. It is not clear to me who has commissioned the report or to whom it is addressed. I imagine this report, dated December 2024, has been brought to the attention of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and/or to/by her advisors. I note that advisors advise and ministers decide. Perhaps the Chancellor declares an interest in that development at and of Doncaster Sheffield Airport and subsidy attached to it, will have an effect on Leeds Bradford Airport and her constituents, and co-incidentally to more deprived areas which are intended to benefit from making such subsidies acceptable and available.

IIUC, the Chancellor was relatively low in fulsome financial commitment to funding development at DSA, and further attention to her words may be a good use of time, much as we may have become accustomed to a certain skepticism / cynicism in use and meaning of 'promises'.

I expect many more words will be shared in a multiplicity of studies and reports 'going forward'; I do not expect to see 'facts on the ground' or even 'spades in the ground' for a 'Heathrow of The North' any time soon; maybe pigs in the sky? Perhaps legislation requiring scrutiny of proposals for subsidies will be binned as anti-growth. Headstone for Milliband and Reeves, in due course?

 

[pug1]

The report produced by York Aviation LLP is indeed interesting. It is not clear to me who has commissioned the report or to whom it is addressed. I imagine this report, dated December 2024, has been brought to the attention of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and/or to/by her advisors. I note that advisors advise and ministers decide. Perhaps the Chancellor declares an interest in that development at and of Doncaster Sheffield Airport and subsidy attached to it, will have an effect on Leeds Bradford Airport and her constituents, and co-incidentally to more deprived areas which are intended to benefit from making such subsidies acceptable and available.

IIUC, the Chancellor was relatively low in fulsome financial commitment to funding development at DSA, and further attention to her words may be a good use of time, much as we may have become accustomed to a certain skepticism / cynicism in use and meaning of 'promises'.

I expect many more words will be shared in a multiplicity of studies and reports 'going forward'; I do not expect to see 'facts on the ground' or even 'spades in the ground' for a 'Heathrow of The North' any time soon; maybe pigs in the sky? Perhaps legislation requiring scrutiny of proposals for subsidies will be binned as anti-growth. Headstone for Milliband and Reeves, in due course?

Interesting you should bring up LBA;

Chancellor changes mind over Leeds Bradford Airport expansion - BBC News

Rachel Reeves has said she would now support any expansion, despite previously opposing the plans.

www.bbc.com

I’m not so sure how the Government could just bin the legislation off the cuff, particularly when it could result in challenges through the courts? ‘Growth’ is not in the public sector but the private sector. Much of what Rachel Reeves announced on Wednesday is intended to be backed by private sector investors. They’ll certainly not be paying for a LHR runway three, the cost of that will be a burden of the private investors should they decide to pursue it.

I doubt RR will have sight of that report, it was most likely completed on behalf of the SAU so they can better understand the implications from an SME perspective.

I would hope the MCA led by Oliver Coppard have sight of it, Oliver himself claims that the plans put forward by Doncaster Council will be scrutinised by independent consultants. I hope this is completed in a more transparent and open process than we have seen with the project thus far.

One thing is clear, the airlines on the whole aren’t interested, and though they might get some small scale interest, it would come at an increased and sustained cost to the tax payer. They should know all this before agreeing to subsidise it!

 

[mpthomson]

There's a good website which provides estimates of population within a radius of a single point which clearly demonstrates DSA problem. tomforth.co.uk/circlepopulations

A radius of 20 miles largely reduces overlap between major alternative airports, so could be classed as the 'local' catchment, beyond that distance choice increases.

Leeds 2.5m
East Midlands 2.5m
Manchester 3.7m
Liverpool 2.6m, but significant overlap with Manchester.
Birmingham 4m

DSA 1.5m

There's an argument with Newcastle and Bristol at 1.6m, but both benefit from no overlap competition within 50 miles.

50 miles from DSA is 9.1m, but that then brings in LBA, EMA and MAN as alternative airports.

DSA challenge is squaring this circle. They need a USP to attract passemgers (which when I used it they did as they attracted BMIbaby and some new destinations), they focus on freight or they increase the population of the 20 mile radius to 2.5m and generate a critical mass of potential demand!

The issue with freight for DSA is that EMA is just down the road and well established as the central/north of England cargo hub for air. It's also MUCH better situated than DSA in terms of motorway access for the whole central/north of England and has a new railfreight terminal as well. Most of the larger carriers, Fedex, DHL, UPS etc all have facilities there and Antonov also used to use it when they flew the 124s more regularly. DSA doesn't offer them anything.

Most airlines that used it previously had their fingers burned and they're going to be much less likely to commit as a result now.

Southend is close to London and has a high propensity for both outbound and inbound travel. Doncaster is a small city with problems of economic deprivation with basically zero inbound traffic potential.

So why try compare how Southend is going? Anyway if you must know they’ve just secured a deal with easyjet to reopen its base, but it list its Ryanair base and its total throughout will be something like 50% of peak value 6 years ago in the best case. So even with London within close proximity, it’s not the most sustainable operation.

I encourage you all to read the attached in detail.

Thats fairly damning and encapsulates what most of us have been saying.

 

[pug1]

The issue with freight for DSA is that EMA is just down the road and well established as the central/north of England cargo hub for air. It's also MUCH better situated than DSA in terms of motorway access for the whole central/north of England and has a new railfreight terminal as well. Most of the larger carriers, Fedex, DHL, UPS etc all have facilities there and Antonov also used to use it when they flew the 124s more regularly. DSA doesn't offer them anything.

Most airlines that used it previously had their fingers burned and they're going to be much less likely to commit as a result now.

Thats fairly damning and encapsulates what most of us have been saying.

EMA was actually built on the former RAF Castle Donington prior to the M1 being constructed. It was a strategic decision to build it there as the authorities had prior warning of the route the M1 wound take in that area. A decision that has paid dividends!

Yorkshire could really have done with the same forward thinking. Placing an airport on the M1 between Sheffield and Leeds but close enough to the M62 would have made a real contender against MAN.

 

[edwin_m]

EMA was actually built on the former RAF Castle Donington prior to the M1 being constructed. It was a strategic decision to build it there as the authorities had prior warning of the route the M1 wound take in that area. A decision that has paid dividends!

Yorkshire could really have done with the same forward thinking. Placing an airport on the M1 between Sheffield and Leeds but close enough to the M62 would have made a real contender against MAN.

Just found a map of WW2 air bases at https://www.anti-aircraft.co.uk/airfieldmap2.html. It seems there were never any in that area, probably because it is much flatter further east, and I doubt anyone would have wanted to create a new runway in difficult terrain when there were many existing sites not too far away. In fact the only one in the vicinity of Leeds was RAF Yeadon, now LBA.

 

[BrianW]

Just found a map of WW2 air bases at https://www.anti-aircraft.co.uk/airfieldmap2.html. It seems there were never any in that area, probably because it is much flatter further east, and I doubt anyone would have wanted to create a new runway in difficult terrain when there were many existing sites not too far away. In fact the only one in the vicinity of Leeds was RAF Yeadon, now LBA.

I recall a glossy promo full-colour book 'Sheffield: Emerging City' which dedicated a number of words, and a map, to support how the emergent city of steel were at the centre of world trade via it's airport, Tinsley yard, etc. with views all the way to the Urals.

The centre for socialism has subsequently embraced Robber Hoodie (Robin Hood?) as it's own, and I await the statue of Lord Scargill to accompany that of a resurrected Secretary of State Haigh (your country needs you?) and Lord Hattersley's mum, a kind of angelic host of South Yorkshire. Other candidates available. Am I dreaming, or is the Chancellor maybe?

 

[pug1]

Just found a map of WW2 air bases at https://www.anti-aircraft.co.uk/airfieldmap2.html. It seems there were never any in that area, probably because it is much flatter further east, and I doubt anyone would have wanted to create a new runway in difficult terrain when there were many existing sites not too far away. In fact the only one in the vicinity of Leeds was RAF Yeadon, now LBA.

This is very true, although there were sites flat enough in the area, the local authorities tended to build airports on sites that had previously been airfields of some kind.

DSA doesn’t lend itself well to being a commercial airport, much like most of the former Cold War airfields it was built in a fairly remote location for a reason.. peel have found at great cost that you can’t move the mountain to Mohammed.

 

[mpthomson]

This is very true, although there were sites flat enough in the area, the local authorities tended to build airports on sites that had previously been airfields of some kind.

DSA doesn’t lend itself well to being a commercial airport, much like most of the former Cold War airfields it was built in a fairly remote location for a reason.. peel have found at great cost that you can’t move the mountain to Mohammed.

Indeed, in the same vein Church Fenton is often brought up as an ‘ideal’ location for a more suitable Leeds airport. It isn’t because it’s in the middle of nowhere with terrible road links and a railway line on the other side of the village from it, plus it’s in an even more sparsely populated location than DSA.

 

[pug1]

Indeed, in the same vein Church Fenton is often brought up as an ‘ideal’ location for a more suitable Leeds airport. It isn’t because it’s in the middle of nowhere with terrible road links and a railway line on the other side of the village from it, plus it’s in an even more sparsely populated location than DSA.

Leeds East is a great GA airfield owned by someone who is involved in that community and is capable of making use of the full site to maximise revenue. But a commercial air transport airfield it is not, it’s better placed to serve the biz jets that want to fly in to the area.

Back in the 60’s one group (I can’t remember who) proposed to build an airport in the Ferrybridge area to coincide with the opening of the M62. Another group proposed an airport on Thorne Moor between Goole and Thorne, not too far north of DSA, but this would have been a combined Yorkshire Authority project which would have seen the closure of LBA. There was also talk of extending the runways at LBA and Brough, Brough being the site of BAe Systems which had a short runway but potential to extend to 7000ft to the East to enable the handling of passenger jets. LBA got its runway extension, Brough got the Cappa Pass chimney on Eastern end of its runway which stopped the commercial passenger flights it had then overnight. These were subsequently moved to RAF Leconfield and then Kirmington was redeveloped around the time of the formation of Humberside.

Sheffield had a raw deal because there isn’t much flat land around. I’m not fully up to speed on its more distant airport plans that never materialised. What I will say though is that there was never a national airport framework. The boat was missed in the 60’s when the Ferrybridge proposal was mooted along with the Burtonwood proposal to serve Liverpool and Manchester. Regional airports were, it was decided, better being determined by the regional authorities themselves, leaving a couple of strategically significant ones to the national government. Prestwick being one..

This is why we have the situation like in Yorkshire, where LBA is the principle airport but because there was no wider strategic thinking it’s on the other side of Leeds to most of the rest of Yorkshire, yet it’s privatised now and is in an ideal location to serve its core market. The U.K. is relatively small so the number of airports make it highly competitive and the catchment areas overlap. But we’ve got to be realistic now, it’s not going to change. Nobody is going to build any new airports and projects like DSA are just a casualty of that.

I’m sure some have seen on here the ‘big news’ that CDC have contracted the operators of Munich Airports services arm to provide ‘operational and management services’ to the airport operator, FlyDoncaster, with the help of FP Airports Ltd.

So lots of people saying Munich Airports International are going to operate the airport. The councils own statement reads somewhat differently;

BREAKING NEWS…International airport expertise has been secured to reopen Doncaster’s airport ✈️

Today Mayor Ros Jones confirms that one of Europe’s most successful airport operator’s subsidiary will strategically partner the reopening of the former Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

Germany-based Munich Airport International GmbH (MAI) will provide operational and management services to FlyDoncaster, the airport’s operator – a wholly owned City of Doncaster Council (CDC) company - along with FP Airports Ltd, aviation sector specialists in the UK, to progress the airport’s reopening.

It’s all in the words, and the devil is in the detail. Detail of which, yet again, the City of Doncaster Council have failed to provide. However, what we can determine is that they have asked MAI to help run the airport because the council would struggle to even run a bath, but this will be a paid for service I.e there will be no financial investment or inherent risk borne by MAI in the venture. The original outline tender documents stated it was a £100million contract. The council say it’s a ‘multi year deal’ which is ambiguous in itself, but in led to believe is 10 years. So are they intending to pay MAI £10 million per year? The operator, as the statement clearly states, is FlyDoncaster which is a company wholly owned by CDC.

Interesting is the involvement of FP Airports Ltd, erstwhile known as FlyPlymouth, a couple of Plymouth based people with no aviation experience other than unsuccessfully trying to get Plymouth Airport reopened for the last 14 years. Their apparent assets of £1500.00 and reserves of -£665,00.00! Yet they’re being called ‘aviation sector specialists in the U.K.’…

Very VERY bizarre. But the people for whose Mayor Ros jones claims DSA as ‘the people’s airport’ (pass the Rennies!) are lapping it up. Munich Airport involvement to them means Heathrow of the North.

Anyhow, they made this tactical announcement not only before purdah leading up to the local elections in May (ahem), but also because on the same day a motion was quietly released that will be delivered at SYMCA board on Tuesday requesting another £10million for ‘reopening’ stuff ahead of a final decision on whether to grant full Gainshare ‘in summer’ once ‘independent scrutiny has been applied’ by SYMCA. The Yorkshire post now claiming the project to total £145million, and that’s before we consider the amount it will inevitably cost in operating the thing, let alone getting it to the position where it could gain the requisite licences to allow it to host commercial air transport once again;

Doncaster Sheffield Airport reopening costs increase to over £145m, council paper reveals

The anticipated public cost of reopening Doncaster Sheffield Airport has increased to more than £145m, council papers have revealed.

www.yorkshirepost.co.uk

Hmmm…

 

[mpthomson]

Leeds East is a great GA airfield owned by someone who is involved in that community and is capable of making use of the full site to maximise revenue. But a commercial air transport airfield it is not, it’s better placed to serve the biz jets that want to fly in to the area.

Back in the 60’s one group (I can’t remember who) proposed to build an airport in the Ferrybridge area to coincide with the opening of the M62. Another group proposed an airport on Thorne Moor between Goole and Thorne, not too far north of DSA, but this would have been a combined Yorkshire Authority project which would have seen the closure of LBA. There was also talk of extending the runways at LBA and Brough, Brough being the site of BAe Systems which had a short runway but potential to extend to 7000ft to the East to enable the handling of passenger jets. LBA got its runway extension, Brough got the Cappa Pass chimney on Eastern end of its runway which stopped the commercial passenger flights it had then overnight. These were subsequently moved to RAF Leconfield and then Kirmington was redeveloped around the time of the formation of Humberside.

Sheffield had a raw deal because there isn’t much flat land around. I’m not fully up to speed on its more distant airport plans that never materialised. What I will say though is that there was never a national airport framework. The boat was missed in the 60’s when the Ferrybridge proposal was mooted along with the Burtonwood proposal to serve Liverpool and Manchester. Regional airports were, it was decided, better being determined by the regional authorities themselves, leaving a couple of strategically significant ones to the national government. Prestwick being one..

This is why we have the situation like in Yorkshire, where LBA is the principle airport but because there was no wider strategic thinking it’s on the other side of Leeds to most of the rest of Yorkshire, yet it’s privatised now and is in an ideal location to serve its core market. The U.K. is relatively small so the number of airports make it highly competitive and the catchment areas overlap. But we’ve got to be realistic now, it’s not going to change. Nobody is going to build any new airports and projects like DSA are just a casualty of that.

I’m sure some have seen on here the ‘big news’ that CDC have contracted the operators of Munich Airports services arm to provide ‘operational and management services’ to the airport operator, FlyDoncaster, with the help of FP Airports Ltd.

So lots of people saying Munich Airports International are going to operate the airport. The councils own statement reads somewhat differently;



It’s all in the words, and the devil is in the detail. Detail of which, yet again, the City of Doncaster Council have failed to provide. However, what we can determine is that they have asked MAI to help run the airport because the council would struggle to even run a bath, but this will be a paid for service I.e there will be no financial investment or inherent risk borne by MAI in the venture. The original outline tender documents stated it was a £100million contract. The council say it’s a ‘multi year deal’ which is ambiguous in itself, but in led to believe is 10 years. So are they intending to pay MAI £10 million per year? The operator, as the statement clearly states, is FlyDoncaster which is a company wholly owned by CDC.

Interesting is the involvement of FP Airports Ltd, erstwhile known as FlyPlymouth, a couple of Plymouth based people with no aviation experience other than unsuccessfully trying to get Plymouth Airport reopened for the last 14 years. Their apparent assets of £1500.00 and reserves of -£665,00.00! Yet they’re being called ‘aviation sector specialists in the U.K.’…

Very VERY bizarre. But the people for whose Mayor Ros jones claims DSA as ‘the people’s airport’ (pass the Rennies!) are lapping it up. Munich Airport involvement to them means Heathrow of the North.

Anyhow, they made this tactical announcement not only before purdah leading up to the local elections in May (ahem), but also because on the same day a motion will be delivered at SYMCA board on Tuesday requesting another £10million for ‘reopening’ stuff ahead of a final decision on whether to grant full Gainshare ‘in summer’ once ‘independent scrutiny has been applied’ by SYMCA. The Yorkshire post now claiming the project to total £145million, and that’s before we consider the amount it will inevitably cost in operating the thing, let alone getting it to the position where it could gain the requisite licences to allow it to host commercial air transport once again;

Doncaster Sheffield Airport reopening costs increase to over £145m, council paper reveals

The anticipated public cost of reopening Doncaster Sheffield Airport has increased to more than £145m, council papers have revealed.

www.yorkshirepost.co.uk

Hmmm…

I had a Facebook exchange yesterday with someone that thought MA was the commercial operator, I had to explain that it wasn't.

 

[pug1]

I had a Facebook exchange yesterday with someone that thought MA was the commercial operator, I had to explain that it wasn't.

I never get involved in the Facebook stuff, just watch from afar. Find it’s not worth it because people will only believe what they want to believe, and if they are of the opinion that a company would invest over £250million into the project in the name of wanting it to fail, you really aren’t going to get very far when showing them the actual facts.

Confirmation bias is rife in this instance, and this applies to the Clowncil as much as it does to the people posting their ill informed opinions on social media.

 

[pug1]

South Yorkshire leaders confirm £10m funding to support reopening of former Doncaster Sheffield Airport - Insider Media

Funding of £10m has been committed to enable City of Doncaster Council to further develop its case to establish South Yorkshire Airport City and re-open Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

www.insidermedia.com

£10million awarded by CDC to themselves yesterday on top of this £10million granted by SYMCA on Tuesday for ‘mobilisation’ whatever that means.

Meanwhile Coppard claims he’s delaying a final decision to allow for ‘independent scrutiny’ of the proposal before allocating the Gainshare. Why not just put the brakes on if he genuinely is to complete a full and open minded appraisal?

It’s dodgy, this additional £20million will not appear on the FlyDoncaster books. The costs so far projected to be £140million, which is an increase of nearly 40% in just two weeks. The projected growth figures appear to have been plucked from thin air.

Hope is not a strategy.

 

[weeklycommuter]

All seats on Doncaster City Council are up for election on 1 May 2025. Perhaps the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport will be quietly dropped after the election.

 

[pug1]

All seats on Doncaster City Council are up for election on 1 May 2025. Perhaps the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport will be quietly dropped after the election.

I thought that initially, but committing such vast sums of money in ‘mobilising’ reopening suggests this isn’t the case, and perhaps they’re worried that if they start the go-ahead now it won’t give them something to promise when it comes to elections.

It’s the lack of transparency I have a problem with as much as the lack of viability. If it’s a dead cert why aren’t they making their plans and costs public? Just a couple of weeks ago we read a report which stated that they do not anticipate costs to exceed the headline £105 million Gainshare figure. They’ve now exceeded those costs by almost 40% and the drawdown hasn’t even started yet!

Why have they not even acknowledged the damning report compiled by York Aviation? A copy of which I have attached.

Why are they using a company that was set up by a group of enthusiasts in Plymouth that have been trying to reopen their local airport for almost 15 years and calling them ‘U.K. sector specialists’?

What capacity are MAI envisaged to hold? They clearly will not have any risk attached as they’re owned by the people of Munich and as such are not in a position to invest in something like this. How much are their contracted rates to be a ‘strategic partner’?

I don’t expect names, but do they have any heads of terms agreed with airlines which would even make this investment worthwhile?

 

[mpthomson]

I thought that initially, but committing such vast sums of money in ‘mobilising’ reopening suggests this isn’t the case, and perhaps they’re worried that if they start the go-ahead now it won’t give them something to promise when it comes to elections.

It’s the lack of transparency I have a problem with as much as the lack of viability. If it’s a dead cert why aren’t they making their plans and costs public? Just a couple of weeks ago we read a report which stated that they do not anticipate costs to exceed the headline £105 million Gainshare figure. They’ve now exceeded those costs by almost 40% and the drawdown hasn’t even started yet!

Why have they not even acknowledged the damning report compiled by York Aviation? A copy of which I have attached.

Why are they using a company that was set up by a group of enthusiasts in Plymouth that have been trying to reopen their local airport for almost 15 years and calling them ‘U.K. sector specialists’?

What capacity are MAI envisaged to hold? They clearly will not have any risk attached as they’re owned by the people of Munich and as such are not in a position to invest in something like this. How much are their contracted rates to be a ‘strategic partner’?

I don’t expect names, but do they have any heads of terms agreed with airlines which would even make this investment worthwhile?

I suspect that without a named operator they won’t even have had any discussions with airlines in any meaningful sense.

 

[pug1]

I suspect that without a named operator they won’t even have had any discussions with airlines in any meaningful sense.

They have a named operator now. FlyDoncaster is the operator, 100% owned by the City of Doncaster Council. They have agreed a ‘strategic partnership’ with both Munich Airports International and FP Airports Ltd erstwhile known as FlyPlymouth.

What they’ve done is effectively mislead the public over a period of nearly 3 years into believing there was serious investor interest in returning the airport to operation, culminating only in the last few weeks in a hidden admission that they haven’t indeed managed to secure any outside investment. Therefore they propose to invest 100% public money into the project and when probed on their decisions, conveniently play the ‘commercial sensitivity’ card.

They hid the SAU submission by alerting the media of a light aircraft movement on 6th December. On the day that the media picked up on the SAU findings and the York Aviation report they announced that MAI would be involved. They have now announced that they’ve secured an additional £20million of public funding because SYMCA mayor Coppard has presumably seen the damning evidence and wants to get his ducks in a row (the legal teams on it to ensure they don’t get challenged!).

So that’s where we are. The groups petitioning to reopen the airport are doing so by now not allowing anyone to challenge the popular narrative, one run by a mechanic saw that mechanic type out an almost incoherent rant besmirching pretty much anyone from Louise Congden of York Aviation right through to Michael O’Leary of Ryanair, the CEO Leeds Bradford Airport and of course the Yorkshire Post and the BBC for doing some actual journalism and asking questions. I understand he even got himself blocked by the editor of the Yorkshire Post for being a pest.

It’s got to the point where people can’t be bothered to actually challenge the popular belief. It’s a dangerous precedent because as things stand they’re walking into a massive financial mess of their own ignorant making - it’s apparently the ‘people’s airport’ after all.. Nicolae Ceaușeacu would be proud.