Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Final flights due unless last-minute buyer found

Airport staff who face losing their jobs gathered outside the airport on Friday afternoon

The final passenger flights into Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) are due to land on Friday as time ticks away for a deal to save it.

Owners Peel decided to cease operations citing the financial viability of the site, threatening 800 jobs.

Doncaster's mayor said she understood an improved offer to buy it had been made but Peel previously dismissed it was in talks with a "credible buyer".

Politicians have urged Peel to "do the right thing" and accept a deal.

Mayor Ros Jones expressed "astonishment" that an initial offer by an "international conglomerate" had been turned down - but said they had tabled a second bid for the former RAF base.

Airport worker Joshua Brown said he was "heartbroken" about the closure

She added: "I urge Peel to take this enhanced offer seriously and enter into a suitable process of due diligence which is a normal part of business dealings."

The mayor said she understood "the monetary figures involved are well above the market value and present a very attractive offer".

The mayor questioned why the owners "did not want to sell" and added: "Perhaps Peel are speculating that there might be higher land values in the future."

She said the authority would not "let that happen" and that the council had secured a legal agreement from Peel that they would not formally close the airport before the end of November.

Peel, who also own Liverpool's John Lennon Airport, have spent the past few weeks winding down the South Yorkshire site, which first opened in 2005 under the name Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield.

The proposed closure sparked anger and several demonstrations have been held since the plans were announced in September.

Last month, an offer of public money to keep the airport operating into 2023 was rejected.

Analysis: By David Rhodes, BBC Yorkshire

Doncaster Sheffield's biggest problem was that it was overshadowed by larger airports in the north of England.

BBC News analysis shows that in 2021 just 3% of passengers using major airports in the North chose to fly from Doncaster Sheffield.

A decade ago the South Yorkshire airport accounted for 2% of the regional market, meaning little headway had been made in attracting more passengers to fly from Doncaster Sheffield.

The Doncaster Chamber of Commerce says the airport contributes around £100m to the wider economy.

However the South Yorkshire economy is worth £32bn a year meaning the airport's closure represents a potential hit of 0.03%.

Joshua Brown, operations officer at the airport, said employees were "devastated it had come to this".

"Staff have turned up every day since they announced it was closing and carried on doing their job being professional and thinking about the customers."

Passengers who flew into the airport on Thursday night spoke of their upset at the closure.

Passengers landing at the airport on Thursday spoke of their sadness

One traveller said: "It's a total shame. For people in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire this has been fantastic for us over the years.

"It's a sad time."

Despite Peel refuting claims earlier this week that it was in talks with a credible buyer, politicians said they were hoping the company would "do the right thing".

Nick Fletcher, Conservative MP for Don Valley, said: "It looks like it is going to close but having said that I do believe if the right investor came along - and I do believe we've got a good investor at the table now - with the right attitude and right money behind it we could get the airport back open very, very quickly."

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard said the closure was not just about a building and runway, but was about "its staff, its businesses, the people it serves".

The GMB union said it had been told by Peel representatives that talks with investors were still ongoing.

Sarah Barnes, GMB organiser, said: "This is an extremely upsetting and unsettling time for all involved and misleading statements about potential investment don't help anyone.

"GMB urges the Peel Group to think of the people and the community will of South Yorkshire and fully commit to this deal."

In a previous statement on Wednesday, Peel said it was "currently not in possession of what could be considered a credible offer" and it had "no evidence as to the source or credibility of the interested party's funding".

The group said it was "continuing to engage with all interested parties" that it had been introduced to by the council.