Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Peel got £2.5m from taxpayer during pandemic, say reports

The Peel Group, which is led by billionaire John Whittaker, dropped the huge bombshell earlier this week that it was considering closing the airport for flying after being hit by financial problems caused by the pandemic and the departure of budget airline Wizz Air.

Now reports have revealed huge sums of cash were handed to the airport during the Covid crisis.

The latest company accounts for Doncaster Sheffield Airport show it made a loss of £4.2million in 2021 after passenger numbers plummeted from 1.2million to just 167,000 due to the pandemic.

But the airport made a small profit in 2020 of £800,000 and writing in January, the directors were optimistic about the future.

“Despite the difficult position of the wider aviation sector in the UK which currently forecasts a modest recovery extending out to 2024, the directors believe Doncaster Sheffield Airport is in a stronger position than many of its competitors coming out of the pandemic due to the recent announcements by our based airlines,” they wrote.

The accounts also reveal that the airport received a “significant amount” of subsidy from the government to help it mitigate the impact of Covid-19 .

For the financial year ending March 2021, it received around £1.8million via the Airports and Ground Operations Supports Scheme (AGOSS) and the furlough scheme.

The AGOSS scheme was set up by the government to help airports with payments for essential costs such as security, utilities and insurance up to a maximum of £4million.

It has now ended but government records of subsidy spending show a final payment of £586,240 under the “Summer Renewal” was made in January.

Peel has not issued any further comment since Wednesday’s dramatic announcement when Chairman of Peel Airports Group Robert Hough said: “It is a critical time for aviation globally.

“Despite pandemic related travel restrictions slowly drawing to a close, we are still facing ongoing obstacles and dynamic long-term threats to the future of the aviation industry.

“Now is the right time to review how DSA can best create future growth opportunities for Doncaster and for South Yorkshire.”

“The Peel Group remains committed to delivering economic growth, job opportunities and prosperity for Doncaster and the wider region.”