Shock as Doncaster Sheffield Airport announces sudden closure

Flights at Doncaster Sheffield Airport are set to start "winding down" in the next few weeks as owners Peel said the site had no future.

Peel previously owned Teesside International Airport before the airport was returned to public ownership.

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In a statement on Monday, Robert Hough, Chairman of Peel Airports Group, paid tribute to the workers at Doncaster Sheffield as he confirmed the news.

A picture of the car park at Doncaster Sheffield Airport (Image: A picture of the car park at Doncaster Sheffield Airport)

He said: "We recognise that this will come as a great disappointment to many. The intractable problem remains the fundamental and insufficient lack of current or prospective revenue streams, together with the airport’s high operating costs.

"Our employees have always been DSA’s greatest asset, and we are grateful to them all, past and present, for their dedication and diligence over the years. The immediate priority remains to continue engaging closely with them over the next few weeks.

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"As such, DSA will now begin a formal process of consulting with team members. We will do everything we can to minimise the impact of these proposals and work closely with local authorities and agencies to support our employees through what we know will be an extremely difficult period."

A date has not yet been set for the closure, but commercial flights are expected to start shutting down from October 31.

Following the announcement, in the North East, the Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen also paid tribute as he responded to the devastating news.

He said: “My heart goes out to staff at Doncaster Sheffield Airport, with hundreds of jobs now at risk due to this unfortunate announcement, and to those local people who have lost their airport on Peel’s watch. 

“This would have been us. 

Teesside Airport (Image: Teesside Airport)

“It’s easy to get carried away with the progress we’re making at Teesside - with the excitement of new flights, investment zones and private businesses like Willis investing £25million - and forget that closure was the alternative if we didn’t bring it into public ownership three and a half years ago.

“It’s far from job done for us. The past two years have been tough and expensive, as they have for all airports and airlines, but you have to look at the bigger picture and the prizes that a successful local airport can bring for a region.”

Mr Houchen earlier this year responded after owners, Peel Group hinted at the potential closure of Doncaster Sheffield Airport years after the threat of Teesside Airport's closure.

Read more: New accounts reveal Teesside Airport lost £11.8m in the last year

At the time, he said: "The devastating news that Doncaster Sheffield Airport is facing closure is a stark reminder of Teesside Airport’s destiny under its previous owners.

“Now it is in the hands of the people, and being operated by those who know it, love it, and are willing to invest in it – rather than a company happy to run it into the ground and drop it like a stone when the going gets tough."

That came as latest accounts for Teesside Airport showed the airport made an £11.8m loss last year.

However, Mr Houchen defended this, saying that the airport was on track to make a profit in line with the Tees Valley Combined Authority's ten-year plan.

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