First aircraft lands at airport since 2022 closure

The 1977 Piper Panther PA31 Navajo is operated by aviation firm 2Excel

A plane has landed at Doncaster Sheffield Airport for the first time since its closure two years ago.

Aviation and aerospace company 2Excel was given permission by Doncaster Council to bring one of its aircraft back to the site as part of a winter maintenance programme.

The 1977 Piper Panther PA31 Navajo twin-engine utility plane is used for search and rescue work and touched down on Friday.

The airport has been shut since November 2022 after owners Peel Group said it was not financially viable.

The council has said reopening the airport will create 5,000 jobs and transform the region with an aviation hub

2Excel has leased a hangar at the airport for more than 10 years and although it had continued some operations on the site, the company relocated its fleet when the airport ceased operations.

It flew the Piper Panther in ahead of the rest of the fleet, which will be housed at the former RAF Finningley base over the winter.

The aircraft will be delivered in a managed process known as an "unlicensed flight" as they do not carry passengers or cargo.

The airport is set to reopen in 2026 after the council agreed to lease the land from Peel. An operator will be contracted to run the aviation business and a successful bidder was identified last month.

The council also requested that the Civil Aviation Authority delayed a decision on whether to suspend controlled airspace around the site.

Mayor Ros Jones, who watched the 2Excel aircraft land, said she was delighted to see it return.

"It's an investment for the whole of South Yorkshire and beyond.

"Medium to long term, it will be the economic stimulus that the whole of the north needs but South Yorkshire and Doncaster as well."

Andy Offer, director of 2Excel, added: "It's a testament to all at 2Excel that we absorbed the pain caused by the unexpected closure of Doncaster to aviation in November 2022.

"It's a place we've been proud to call our home for more than a decade, but it's important to recognise that we never left. Throughout the past two years, 150 people have continued to work in our hangar."

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