Government backs plans to reopen airport

The government will support the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA), Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said. In a major speech on economic growth, Reeves said the government would work with City of Doncaster Council and South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard to "recreate South Yorkshire Airport City as a thriving regional airport". The Airport City plan includes reopening the airport, building hundreds of homes and creating a "world-leading sustainable aviation hub", Coppard said. A decision from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority on the council's plan to use £100m of public money on the reopening is expected by summer. Eight hundred jobs were lost in November 2022 when DSA closed after Peel, the owner of the airport and the land, deemed it was not financially viable. Reeves said: "It now sits idle despite the potential to drive jobs and growth across the North." She recalled there was "overwhelming support" for it to stay open at the time. Coppard said the Airport City plan would "create good jobs in the industries of the future", make "best use" of public money and reduce carbon emissions from flying.<br/>