Having closed in 2022, Doncaster Sheffield Airport in the UK is one step closer to reopening following the signing of a 125-year lease for the site by the local council.
The agreement will help ensure the future of the site while a new operator is found for the airport, which was previously run by Peel Group.
The airport was closed due to concerns that it was “no longer commercially viable” following Wizz Air announcing it was discontinuing services from the airport in 2022.
In a joint statement, chambers of commerce from the four metropolitan boroughs of South Yorkshire expressed their delight at the council’s agreement saying it was a “huge relief” for those “invested in the complicated situation”. Locals were also described as being “jubilant”, with the new lease “securing the airport for generations to come”.
Sarah Barnes, Organiser of the GMB Campaign, which was run by the GMB union – a membership-based organisation that campaigns for and protects its members’ rights at work – said: “Workers fought tirelessly with their union and local politicans to save our airport.”
She also pointed out that although the original battle to prevent the closure of the airport in 2022 wasn’t won, the union’s members never gave up hope.
“GMB welcomes this news to secure good, unionised jobs for working people in South Yorkshire,” Barnes said. “We look forward to working with the new operators to secure a future for workers at Doncaster Sheffield Airport.”
While the agreement for a new long-term lease is cause for celebration, the airport’s future is still uncertain.
“The next step is appointing an operator and investor who will manage and develop the airport,” said Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones. The process of appoining a new operator is under way, with an announcement hoped for in the coming months.
In February, Doncaster Council was given approval to access £138 million of public money to work with potential investors to negotiate a leasehold agreement and progress with its South Yorkshire Airport City (SYAC) plan.
According to SYAC’s plans, the airport site would be reopened to create a sustainable aviation hub in the neighbouring GatewayEast and create additional jobs around manufacturing. It has been reported that the plan will create 5,000 direct jobs in the airport and over 10,000 indirect jobs, generating between £1 billion and £2.3 billion in revenue.
Header image: historic photo supplied in 2020 prior to Wizz Air ceasing operations at Doncaster Sheffield.
