Photo gallery: Mayor reveals current state of Doncaster Sheffield Airport following visit

The county’s Labour mayor paid a visit to the abandoned airport at Finningley to inspect the premises, which have lain empty since November 2022.

He is due to make an announcement on funding for the re-opening in September.

Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones has said the base will re-open in spring next year following the closure of the airport by owners Peel nearly three years ago.

Sharing a number of pictures of the site, Mr Coppard said: “This morning we had a flying visit to DSA in advance of our decision on funding later this summer.

"The terminal needs some work and there’s no shortage of maintenance to be done, but the site is in good shape!”

Mr Coppard shared pictures which showed a stripped out room and the empty control tower, as well as the iconic Robin Hood statue which welcomed visitors to the airport.

In June, Mayor Coppard made the funding announcement at the start of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) AGM.

He told the board work commissioned into the viability of the airport project earlier this year was “well underway” and added: “We expect to be able to make an investment decision in early September.”

The Mayor had pushed a decision on whether to release gainshare funding to support the reopening of the airport to “summer 2025”. Whilst later than planned, the new projection offers a clearer timeline of the road ahead.

He told the meeting: “I realise that people are frustrated… but we have to get it right.

“If we don’t prepare properly it will fail. We have to make sure we get it right the first time.”

Mr Coppard said it was important to protect taxpayers money – as current projections for the cost of reopening Doncaster Sheffield Airport approach £150million.

Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones welcomed the announcement and thanked the South Yorkshire Mayor for the commitment.

She said in a statement: “I must emphasise the importance of the Gainshare decision in early September and swift release of Gainshare funding alongside the £30m from Government that the Prime Minister announced in April.

“We are at a critical point, where we need this certainty of funding in order to continue our plans to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport. We need the certainty to progress with our Airspace, sign-up airlines and freight providers and employ and train the hundreds of staff required to operate an airport.

“Whilst we acknowledge that this is public money and the need for due diligence, we are pleased that Oliver has signalled that the assurance work continues to build confidence over the summer and that he has committed that the decision in early September will be the final decision on Gainshare.”

Reopening Doncaster Sheffield Airport was the central election commitment from Mayor Jones, who narrowly retained the role over Reform UK’s Alexander Jones.

During the election campaign, the prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and deputy prime minister Angela Rayner visited the airport site to announce a £30m package to support its return.

Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, reiterated her backing for reopening the airport in her recent spending review.

The Civil Aviation Authority announced in May that it was redrawing Doncaster Sheffield Airport’s airspace, which the Aviation Minister said “brings the reopening of the airport yet another step closer”.