A regional airport, which once had a rather controversial name, could be reopening — with flights potentially setting off as soon as Spring 2026.
Yorkshire’s Doncaster Sheffield Airport previously serviced thousands of passengers every year but has been closed since November 2022.
At the time its owners, Peel Group, claimed it was no longer financially viable to keep it open, but it looks like it’s headed towards a revival as a new operator has been identified.
Progress towards re-opening the airport is underway, with the first flight in two years landing earlier today.
Aviation company 2Excel, which has maintained a hangar on the airport site for over a decade, received permission from the City of Doncaster Council to bring one of its aircraft back as part of a winter maintenance programme.
The aircraft touched down at DSA on Friday morning, watched by Mayor Ros Jones and local MPs, in a controlled, unlicensed flight.
It marks the beginning of several flights that are expected to land over the coming months, as 2Excel aircraft returns to Doncaster from bases around the country.
Mayor Jones said: ‘We know how important the airport is to local people and businesses so it is great to see an already established aviation business in our city being able to use the site again.
‘I have made reopening our beloved airport my number one priority. We are still working steadfastly to reopen the airport by Spring 2026 and there will be further news forthcoming in early 2025. Progress is going well and further updates will be given in the New Year.’
Negotiations with the airport’s new operator are ongoing, but Mayor Jones, has claimed it’s another ‘major milestone’ in helping to reopen the airport.
In a statement in November, Mayor Jones said: ‘Our proposition is not just an airport but will be a hub for sustainable aviation-related industry. South Yorkshire Airport City – the programme to reopen the airport – has incredible potential, to bring jobs and prosperity to Doncaster and the wider South Yorkshire region.’
The mayor added that she would release details of who has been appointed when she can, and to ‘rest assured we are working as hard as possible to get the airport reopened’.
The South Yorkshire Airport City project could bring 5,000 new jobs and £6.6billion to the area, Doncaster Council said. However, they went on to warn that are still a ‘series of milestones to be delivered to ensure the airport is fully operational for passenger flights in 2026’.
For instance, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) has been asked to release a £3million financial package to go towards preparing the airport, and the reinstatement of airspace is currently under consideration by the Civil Aviation Authority.
A controversial name
Doncaster Sheffield Airport was first opened as Finningley Airfield in 1915 and was a base for the Royal Flying Corps to intercept industrial cities of Northern England.
The airfield was later used for training purposes in World War II and for nuclear-armed Vulcan bombers during the Cold War, before being decommissioned in 1995.
Twenty years later, it reopened as a commercial airport under the name Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield Airport, much to the confusion of the people 41 miles away in Nottingham.
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The city famously claims the legendary English figure, yet the inclusion of the name was reportedly due to the original legends being set in Barnsdale Forest, an area of South Yorkshire that surrounded Doncaster and Pontefract.
So controversial was the name, however, that a petition started to oppose it and was signed by over 10,000 people. In 2016, the airport rebranded to Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
The last inbound flight to the airport was on November 4, 2022, at 9:15pm, from Egypt and the final commercial flight to leave the airport was November 5 at 12:15am, headed for Manchester.
The airport flew to as many as 50 destinations in Europe, with its main operators being TUI and Wizz Air. It isn’t clear whether Wizz Air will be returning upon its reopening.
Currently, Jet2 is seeking flight options out of Doncaster airport when it reopens, the Doncaster Free Press reports.
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