Major UK airport that once flew to Spain and Cyprus given huge boost to reopen following £30million grant
PLANS to reopen an abandoned UK airport have been handed a huge boost in the form of a £30million government grant.
Doncaster Sheffield Airport has been closed since November 2022, after its last major airline Wizz Air terminated flights to and from the travel hub.
The airline connected Doncaster Sheffield to holiday hotspots like Lanzarote, Malaga, Cyprus, Amsterdam and Dublin.
Its owners soon declared that keeping it running after those flights had been withdrawn was not "financially viable".
Since then efforts to reopen it have continued and this week were boosted by the potential of some much-needed additional funding.
A letter from transport secretary Mark Harper to South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard on Thursday, February 1 explained that a grant was both available and "suitable" for the project.
Doncaster Sheffield Airport first opened in 2005 and was the 29th biggest airport in the UK.
It was voted the best UK airport, according to Which? and had flights to popular hotpots in Europe such as Tenerife and Lanzarote.
Earlier this year, reports claimed that a request to use the £30 million to reopen the airport had been rejected.
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However, Harper's reply suggests clearly that Doncaster Sheffield would likely be given approval for the grant.
The transport secretary said: “The government is supporting South Yorkshire through Gainshare funding, making £900 million available through £30 million funding per year over 30 years.
“This is exactly the funding which the mayor of Teesside used to support Teesside Airport and is consequently very likely to be suitable for your needs.
“I am sure we can both agree that it is excellent news that there is clear government grant available that you can choose to use to support Doncaster Sheffield Airport.”
The news will be seen as a huge positive for people in the town who want flights to return to the airport, including some residents, one of whom wrote passionately about the need for it to reopen.
In a letter to the Yorkshire Post, local Ron Firth said that it was important to "make the most of its potential in providing skilled jobs for the skilled workforce available".
He continued: "This unique opportunity to create a transport hub centred on Doncaster would provide a first class flight base for commercial and tourist customers."
Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones is another who has been very vocal about the need to reopen the airport, claiming it was her number one priority back in September.
Travel Weekly report that she said: “We are hopeful that a lease can be secured and look forward to working with interested parties in the reopening the airport.
“We have already initially tested the market for those industry experts who can partner with us to get the airport reopened as soon as we can.
“If we get the lease agreed then reopening the airport will not happen overnight, of course, but it would be a huge step forward.”
Doncaster Sheffield isn't the only closed airport that people are trying to have reopened, with campaign groups also trying to bring flights back to Plymouth.
However, that project was dealt a blow earlier this month, with members of the public claiming that airlines don't want to return to the airport.
One resident wrote to the Plymouth Herald, saying: "Plymouth City Council should be honest with residents. There is next to no prospect of the airfield being brought back in to use.
"The elephant in the room is the complete lack of any airline willing to operate flights from Plymouth. None think it viable."
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