Tui was one of several carriers, along with Wizz Air, to operate from DSA before owner Peel Group declared it commercially unviable and shut it in 2022.
Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones, along with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, has campaigned vociferously to reopen the airport; an operator has now been found and up to £160 million pledged to restore operations. Commercial passenger flights could now resume by winter 2027/28.
Last month, Jones said she wanted to see bookings being taken "before the end of 2026" for flights and holidays departing DSA during the 2027/28 winter season.
Is there a case for reopening Doncaster Sheffield airport?
Tui UK and Ireland managing director Neil Swanson, appearing alongside Jet2.com and Jet2holidays chief executive Steve Heapy, was asked by a delegate if DSA was on Tui's radar.
"We're not ready to announce anything yet but clearly it is something we are looking at and talking about," said Swanson. "We were in there before so it's part of an ongoing discussion."
Conference moderator Jonathan Samuels pressed Swanson on whether he had "positive vibes" about developments, to which he responded again: "It's part of an ongoing discussion," prompting laughs from delegates.
Samuels put the same question to Heapy, who addressed the issue at last year's Jet2holidays conference. "My response, predictably, is that we talk to a lot of airports all the time," he said.
"It would clearly be inappropriate with any airport we're talking to to say in a public forum what we're thinking of doing. But we'll consider any and all airports in the future."
Doncaster Sheffield airport could reopen to commercial flights for the winter 2027/28 season (Credit: iStock / Duncan Cuthbertson)
Speaking last month, Jones said: "I have said all along that I want our airport to fully reopen as soon as possible. In terms of people wanting to go on holiday from Doncaster, we want to see bookings being taken before the end of 2026, with holidays available for the winter 2027/28 season."
She added: “This includes working with the Civil Aviation Authority to redesign the airspace needed and getting essential infrastructure back in as soon as we can, such as radar, air traffic control, fire service and other matters in place."
