AN abandoned UK airport will reopen with £160 million in funding confirmed in an “incredible milestone”.
Council leaders in gave funding plans the green light that will see planes finally leaving the runway once again.
Doncaster Sheffield Airport is due to reopen after funding plans were approved
Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) was , after its then owners said it wasn’t financially viable to stay open.
It comes after the hub’s relaunch was after South Yorkshire Mayor, Oliver Coppard warned they “can’t say when it will reopen”.
This followed re-opening plans put forward earlier this year, including the
Secretary, Heidi Alexander, , boosting hopes that passengers flight could be returning as early as next year.
But now, plans to get flights off the ground finally seem to finally be taking off with the latest funding boost.
‘We are cleared for take-off’
The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) met at the airport on Tuesday to reach a final decision on the proposed funding.
There, Oliver Coppard, South Yorkshire’s Mayor, and the four council leaders in South Yorkshire approved the £160 million package to re-open the .
In a speech given by Oliver Coppard on Tuesday, he announced: “We are ready for take off.”
But the won’t be taking off anytime soon as the won’t be fully operational until the summer of 2028.
However, there could be “limited” passenger activity and cargo from winter 2027.
The airport was previously under private ownership but will now pass into public ownership.
Since its closure, there has been a campaign by Doncaster Council and others, including central government, to re-open it.
The funding will now be released to Doncaster Council so it can open the doors through Fly Doncaster, a council-owned company say The Yorkshire Post .
Mayor of City of Doncaster Council Ros Jones, who has been pushing for the airport’s reopening, said: “This is an important day in our airport’s story. Today we have taken a huge step forward towards fully reopening our airport.”
She added: “This project is not simply to reopen our airport for passenger flights, it’s about the wider economic impacts, creating a hub for aviation related industry, delivering jobs and opportunities for our residents and putting Doncaster back on the map.”
A ‘huge milestone’
The reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport is expected to create a “world leading” sustainable and advanced manufacturing hub.
It’s hoped that its reopening will kick start wider investment and development in the region, creating thousands of jobs and boosting the by as much as £5 billion.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said: “The reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport is a huge milestone for communities and business across South Yorkshire, delivering better connections, jobs and economic growth.”
Doncaster Airport operated for less than 20 years, opening in 2005 as Robin Hood Airport (with the name change in 2016).
The airport once offered passengers flights to 50 destinations such as Paris, Majorca, Alicante, Berlin and Dubrovnik.
Airlines included (which left the airport in 2019) as well as Wizz Air and .
Doncaster East and Isle of Axholme Labour MP Lee Pitcher with both and TUI to return to the airport.
Other abandoned UK airports
Doncaster Sheffield Airport isn't the only abandoned airport in the UK with plans to re-open.
The Sun reported in July how Manston Airport is set to re-open its doors after being closed for over a decade.
The location will undergo an impressive £500 million renovation that includes a complete runway resurfacing and is scheduled for 2027. But as with Doncaster Sheffield, planes won’t be jetting off anytime soon.
Passenger flights aren’t expected to operate until 2029.
Plymouth Airport has also been closed since 2011 but could serve more than a million passengers every year if given the investment it needs to reopen.
The airport has been safeguarded for general aviation use since 2014 and there are still those who hope flights will return there in the near future.
Croydon Airport, which was once the biggest in the world, was also forced to scrap flights more than 60 years ago after first opening in 1920.
Despite being closed, you can still visit parts of the airport including the control tower and arrivals hall.
Now a museum, it opens once a month to the public for free, with a voluntary donation of £8.
Passengers flights are set to resume at the airport in 2028 
