£160m meeting on airport's future: How did we get here?

A funding decision about Doncaster Sheffield Airport will be made on Tuesday

Council leaders in South Yorkshire are due to decide whether to allocate nearly £160m of funding to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) on Tuesday.

Flights were grounded in 2022 when landowner and operator Peel Group said the airport on the former RAF Finningley site was no longer financially viable.

South Yorkshire's Labour mayor Oliver Coppard and the region's four borough council leaders, who have previously committed £16m to the project, will meet later.

Coppard said he would back the decision to spend the money at a press conference last week.

Ahead of any decision, here is everything you need to know about efforts to reopen the airport.

When did it close and why?

Landowners and operators Peel Group announced in September 2022 that services at the airport, which employed 800 workers, would wind down from 31 October.

It said the closure was due to a "fundamental lack of financial viability" and said "no tangible proposals" had been received regarding its future ownership.

Robert Hough, chairman of Peel Airports, said at the time that he recognised news of the closure would come as "a great disappointment to many".

The airport, which first opened in April 2005, was used by Tui and Wizz Air and served destinations including the Canary Islands, Balearics, Greece, Turkey, Poland and the Baltic countries.

Who wants to reopen it?

Since its closure, several businesses and campaigners, such as the Save Doncaster Airport group, petitioned for its reopening.

Numerous politicians pledged their support, including Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones, former Conservative MP for Don Valley Nick Fletcher and current Doncaster East Labour MP Lee Pitcher.

In April 2025, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced a total of £30m would be released by the government to support the airport's reopening.

Should it get up and running again, German firm Munich Airport International would "provide operational and management services" to FlyDoncaster, a company set up by the council to run the airport alongside UK firm FP Airports.

How will it help the local economy?

Coppard previously said reopening the airport would support 5,000 jobs, boost the economy by £5bn and provide wider benefits of £2bn by 2050.

City of Doncaster Council said the airport had the potential to be profitable within five years of reopening and attract up to two million passengers a year within a decade.

When could I get a flight from DSA?

If the board decides to approve the funding, the airport could be fully operational by 2028 and serve freight operations, private aviation and business activity alongside passenger flights.

During a speech in August, South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard said: "We will of course aim for that to happen sooner."

What happens next?

A board meeting later will decide whether to allocate the money, defer the decision or withdraw from public funding and seek alternative delivery models.

The board is made up of Coppard, Barnsley Council leader Sir Steve Houghton, Doncaster's Ros Jones, Rotherham Council leader Chris Read and leader of Sheffield City Council Tom Hunt.

After revealing that he would vote in favour of releasing the cash, Coppard acknowledged the financial risks involved.

But said the airport's revival was a "huge opportunity" for the region.

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