Final flights scheduled as Doncaster Sheffield airport nears closure

Attempts to prevent the closure of the UK’s Doncaster Sheffield airport appear to have failed, with the final passenger service set to arrive from Hurghada on 4 November, and a positioning flight departing for Manchester just after midnight on 5 November. Leisure carrier TUI, the airport’s remaining based airline, will operate the services. Doncaster Sheffield had been the subject of a strategic review after failing to turn a profit since opening in 2005. The review concluded that the airport was not commercially viable, and that operations would be wound down from the end of October. Parliamentarians discussed the situation on 24 October, with Conservative party member Nick Fletcher – representing the airport’s constituency – calling for a public inquiry to “get to the truth” regarding the facility’s demise. He particularly claimed that the airport’s owner, Peel Group, had sought financial support from the combined local authorities for three years, initially as a £20 million equity share, and then as a loan. Fletcher told Parliament that, according to Peel Group, the airport would not be facing closure if this funding had been made available earlier this year. He also pointed out that Peel Group was prepared to sell its Teesside airport to the local authority, and that – even if the combined authorities for Doncaster Sheffield could not replicate this deal, there had been a proposal to cover Peel’s losses for 13 months, but this was not accepted. Fletcher said a public inquiry would provide insight as to why these options have not succeeded in saving Doncaster Sheffield.<br/>