Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Rally held to keep site open

A rally was held in Doncaster after Doncaster Sheffield Airport owners said the site "may no longer be commercially viable"

About 200 people attended a rally to protest against the threatened closure of an airport in South Yorkshire.

Doncaster Sheffield Airport owners Peel Group said in July the site "may no longer be commercially viable".

A consultation into plans for the airport was launched by the company last month.

The GMB union, which represents airport staff, said the government and local councils should consider all options to save it.

The crowd in Market Place, Doncaster was addressed by GMB reps, local MP Dame Rosie Winterton and South Yorkshire's Mayor Oliver Coppard.

South Yorkshire's Mayor, Oliver Coppard,vowed to do all he could to keep the airport open

Mr Coppard told the crowd he was committed to do "all he could to keep the airport open".

Speaking ahead of the rally, GMB regional organiser Sarah Barnes said: "Government inaction, when jobs are on the line, is unacceptable."

Ms Barnes said 800 jobs would be directly affected if the closure went ahead.

She said the government should "step in quickly and commit money" to save Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

Its future was put in doubt when directors said it had "never achieved the critical mass required to become profitable", citing issues including Covid and the impact of airline Wizz Air cancelling flights.

The site, which opened as an international commercial airport in 2005, handled more than one million passengers annually before pandemic restrictions and services from there fly to 50 destinations.