Back in February 2023, we at Time Out reported that Doncaster Sheffield Airport may have been about to make a very welcome return from the grave. Much to the delight of northern holidaymakers, Doncaster Council revealed plans to lease the site and reopen it. Doncaster Sheffield Airport only closed in November 2022.
And now that reopening could be getting a step closer. This week (week beginning February 12 2024), a vote is due on the board of the South Yorkshire Combined Authority that could approve funds to lease Doncaster Sheffield Airport. A whopping £138 million of public money could be freed to get the airport back up and running.
Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones told the BBC that saving and reopening the airport was her ‘number one priority’.
She said: ‘I am pleased to say lease negotiations continue to progress positively and I'm confident we can agree a deal, but we are not over the line yet. We are following our carefully managed plan.’
Doncaster Sheffield Airport closed in November 2022 despite being crowned the best airport in the UK by Which? just months before. It had been praised for its ‘faultless service’ but then was forced to close due to an ‘insufficient lack of current or prospective revenue streams’.
If the council is successful in the vote later this week, Doncaster Sheffield could once again be offering flights to a range of destinations including Tenerife, Bucharest and Lanzarote. Watch this space for updates!
Stay in the loop: sign up to Out There, our free newsletter about all the best stuff to do across the UK.