The reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport has been delayed as mayors find investors

The airport had closed in 2022, but was scheduled to reopen later this year

The grand re-opening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport is set to be delayed as the Mayor of Doncaster extends time to find an investor.

Mayor Ros Jones admitted on Friday (May 17) that due to a lack of investors, the deadline for reopening the airport, which closed in November 2022, would be pushed back.

Speaking at a full council meeting, the council leader gave an update on negotiations so far.

After being closed for over a year, Doncaster Council wanted to secure financial stability for the airport to keep the infrastructure open permanently.

The council sought a new investor to re-open the site through a lease. The deal has already been signed off by the council, with the investor entering into a contract with Peel that will last 125 years.

Initially, the council was looking for an investor to take over by the spring of this year; however, this has now been extended until the end of the summer to give investors more time to prepare their cases.

However, despite the change in timelines, the council is still expected to make a decision on the tender in the rest of the spring.

Doncaster council is being supported in its efforts to reopen the airport by the South Yorkshire Combined Mayor’s Authority – which committed around £138 million to the project in February.

Jones, along with the mayor of the South Yorkshire Combined Authority – Oliver Coppard – and three Doncaster MPs released a joint statement backing their efforts to reopen the transport hub.

“We understand that there are still a number of stages before aircraft can fly from our airport again, but the progress made so far cannot be underestimated,” they explained.

“We will ensure cross-party lobbying of the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority to fully restore our airspace as soon as possible. A reopened Doncaster airport has incredible potential for Doncaster and South Yorkshire.

“South Yorkshire Airport City incorporates both a re-opened airport and the world’s leading sustainable aviation hub at Gateway East in Doncaster,” they finished.

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