The Peel Group, which owns Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) in the UK have confirmed that the airport will close later this year, despite the offer of financial aid from public funds. Although no firm date has been set for its closure flights will gradually stop coming into the airport from 31 October.
The owners had extended a public consultation period by 10 days, however they underlined that a strategic review had concluded without any clear proposals on the air transport hub’s financial viability, or a potential buyer.
Air traffic at the regional hub had fallen by more than half since 2019 and earlier this year Wizz Air announced it was discontinuing services from the airport. Currently Tui is the only carrier operating from Doncaster Sheffield.
Negotiations are now underway with employees as more than 800 people have to be laid off and around 2,700 would be set aside from the suppliers. Manchester Airport Group (MAG) is offering its support to affected staff. A spokesperson for MAG said:
“Following the sad news of the planned closure of Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA), MAT will offer all affected staff a guaranteed interview for vacancies across its three airports – East Midlands, London Stansted and Manchester.
“East Midlands Airport will be participating in a jobs fair on Tuesday 27 September and London Stansted Airport will host a jobs fair on Tuesday 4 October.
“All affected staff from DSA are invited to attend, learn more about available opportunities and the recruitment process.”
