If all goes to plan, passenger flights could be taking off from Doncaster Sheffield airport (DSA) again as early as 2027.
Proposals to reopen the airport, which closed in late 2022, mean an awful lot at stake - £160 million of public money, in fact, not including the £16 million already spent on the campaign.
The decision to commit £160 million rested with the leaders of local authorities in South Yorkshire, Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.
They envisage it part of a South Yorkshire Airport City “advanced manufacturing innovation corridor” stretching from Doncaster to Sheffield, and have Downing Street's backing.
That’s well and all good, but what local consumers and travel agents really want to know is simply this: is Jet2 coming? And if so, when?
The funds are committed, the operator – Munich airport – agreed, now what’s needed is an anchor tenant. Local MP Lee Pitcher admits “significant passenger operations aren't likely to commence until summer 2028 but with potential for limited passenger activity and cargo from winter 2027”.
That means persuading at least one significant partner to operate from the airport.
Tui? Wizz? Jet2?
When it opened in 2005, Tui (then Thomson) operated short-haul flights, as well as services to the Dominican Republic. It was successful, with Tui basing an aircraft there.
The other key player was Wizz Air, with Bucharest, Katowice and Gdansk the airport’s top three routes in 2019, according to the CAA. Brexit means routes like these probably won’t return.
Tui operated the final flight from the airport in November 2022 after Wizz Air pulled out, which prompted the airport's owner Peel Group to say it was unviable. However, that was during the Covid era, at which time Jet2.com and Jet2holidays was not in its current expansive mindset.
Jet2 boss Steve Heapy said in December he would “go and have a look” at the airport. It could be an easy win – Jet2 does not have to commit to basing an aircraft there as it could operate a "W" flying pattern from nearby Leeds Bradford airport.
On the other hand, Heapy could get cold feet and decide the good people of Sheffield and Doncaster can continue travelling to Jet2's hometown base to catch their flights.
At its peak in 2019, Doncaster Sheffield reached 1.4 million passengers, so it presumably was a viable business. It sits conveniently between the M1 and the A1, 19 miles east of Sheffield and according to Google, a 37-minute drive from the city centre, so it has a lot going for it.
Local authorities will invest in it until 2050 and have taken a 125-year lease on the land. Let’s hope their confidence is justified and DSA doesn’t come to mean Don’t Squander Assets. It could be down to Jet2 to swoop in and save the day.
