City of Doncaster Council has agreed a 125-year lease with the airport’s owners, Peel Group, which had earlier refused to sell the facility. The deal comes 16 months after the airport was closed when Wizz Air pulled out.

South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard said: “There remain steps ahead on this journey, the next one being bringing in a private operator with the capability and experience to turn DSA into the thriving regional airport we know it can be.

“I am keen to see the council now secure that private sector operator to run the airport as swiftly as possible.”

The Doncaster Free Press said South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority had granted access to £138 million in funds to reopen the airport.

Coppard added: “Once they have that agreement in place, the Mayoral Combined Authority stands ready to assess the full business case in order to release the funding to support this deal, and to get DSA flying again.

"I know people want us to move quickly and we will, but I have said from the start, we will only ever do things in a way that protects taxpayers while giving both DSA and South Yorkshire the brightest possible future.”