Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA), with a staff of 800 employees, will officially close for commercial operations by the end of this year, the airport owners confirmed, despite the offer of financial aid from public funds. Going ahead, the airport site will be turned into a logistics and warehousing complex.
Peel Group has said that there are no tangible proposals for future ownership and the closure was due to a fundamental lack of financial viability.
Robert Hough, Chairman of Peel Airports Group, Doncaster's owner, said: "We recognise that this will come as a great disappointment to many. The problem remains the fundamental and insufficient lack of current or prospective revenue streams, together with the airport's high operating costs."
Steven Underwood, CEO of the Peel Group, said: “We will not accept any public sector grant [i.e., government funding] to cover the costs of an airport that is not viable due to its lack of adequate forward revenues and high operating costs."
DSA numbers have started dwindling since the pandemic and it never attracted enough passengers to be profitable, the owners added.
The airport had accumulated losses of £170 million and anticipated a further £45 million loss in the next five years, owners confirmed. But then as Flybe discontinues services in 2020 and Wizz Air stopped flights from June 2020, leaving TUI as the only airline using DSA.
As per the UK CAA data, the airport had a footfall of 14.9 million passengers between 2005 and 2021. In 2019, it was reported as the second busiest airport in the UK. In July 2022, passenger numbers were at 83% as compared to 2019.
The airport was offered public funds to keep it going for the next year. The Peel Group is facing a lot of criticism from the political and social community for not being serious about keeping the airport operational. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Liz Truss has intervened in the matter and called upon the authorities to keep the airport operational.
Responding to the criticism, Peel Group said: “We have received a letter from the mayor’s office earlier this month, saying a group interested in buying the airport had come forward, but it had not received any more details about this potential purchaser. Also, the offer of public funds to cover its operating losses until the end of October 2023, while a new owner was found, would be an inappropriate way to spend public money against the backdrop of an unviable, loss-making operating business."
As of now, the fate of the airport hangs in the air. All the affected staff at DSA have been offered job interviews by Manchester Airports Group.
Commenting on the closure, Andrew Flintham, Managing Director for TUI UK & Ireland, announced the last flight from DSA on November 4, 2022, adding that the customers impacted by the closure would be contacted in departure date order. “The airport has always been a popular and important regional airport for our valued customers and colleagues in the local area,” he added. "We know how important regional airports are to the UK economy and we’ve always supported any proposals to keep the airport open. We’ve worked with Peel Group, the airport’s owners, and government throughout the consultation process to try and prevent this outcome."