Doncaster Sheffield Airport passenger flights in 2028 known for ‘a number of weeks’, says Oliver Coppard

In an interview with the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Oliver Coppard was asked when he, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), Ros Jones and the City of Doncaster Council came to realise the new project timetable revealed in his speech earlier in the week.

He said: “We’ve been working with Ros closely clearly. We’ve been working with Damian [Allen], the chief exec, talking all the time.

“When that conversation was first had I couldn’t tell you but we’ve certainly been talking about the speech itself and that 2028 date for a number of weeks.”

Mayor Coppard sat down with the LDRS to answer any questions relating to Doncaster Sheffield Airport and his speech earlier in the week.

The mayor spoke to members of the Doncaster Chamber in which he listed the challenges of opening an airport and the achievements of SYMCA and Doncaster Council so far.

He told the LDRS in the interview: “Obviously, Doncaster have been involved in the whole of the process in terms of the work that we’ve done.

“Those conversations have been ongoing for the last number of weeks.”

It comes as the leader of the Reform UK group on Doncaster Council suggested the Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones had misled the public over the airport.

In a brief statement on Friday, August 29, reported by the LDRS, Councillor Guy Aston said Jones had declined to come clean with the council chamber that there would be no holiday flights until 2028 when given the opportunity at July’s full council meeting.

He said: “I inquired of Mayor Jones about the 2026 flight destinations from Doncaster Airport. Holiday brochures had been released, and it seemed that all the holiday landing slots had already been allocated.

“The response I received was that the information was ‘company confidential’. Mayor Jones did not inform the chamber that there would be no holiday flights from the airport in 2026.”

In a statement to the LDRS, Mayor Jones said: “We have always stated that there are interdependencies out of our control in relation to issues such as Airspace and Aerodrome Certification.

“We expect to see freight services commence in Summer 2026, followed by passenger flights towards the end of 2027, meaning we should see plane tickets and holidays on sale by late 2026 flying from Doncaster for the winter 2027/28 holiday season, but again this is all dependent on several factors including Gainshare decision, Airspace, Aerodrome Certification and negotiations with airlines.

“In relation to commercial passenger flights, we have been reviewing plans over the last few weeks in advance of the SYMCA Gainshare decision whilst they were carrying out additional due diligence works.

“I want our airport fully operational as soon as possible, but we must follow the correct process.”

Asked how Mayor Jones can expect passenger flights in 2027 when Oliver Coppard revealed it was unlikely to be until 2028, a spokesperson for Jones said: “Oliver is saying it could be earlier and we’re saying we’re aiming for the back end of 2027.”

In Labour’s campaign material in the month before the mayoral election on May 1, 2025, it was not explicitly stated that “passenger flights” would be in Spring 2026.

However, Ros and Labour’s social media statements from before the election period, as well as online documents relating to the gainshare funding in 2024, did explicitly state an aim for passenger flights in 2026.

The gainshare funding decision was initially scheduled for November 2024, however, even when Oliver Coppard delayed the decision further to September 2025, Mayor Jones’ team told the LDRS they were committed to “opening” the airport by Spring 2026.

In the interview after his Tuesday speech, Mayor Coppard was asked by the LDRS what an “open airport” means.

He said: “I think an open airport means different things to different people.”

He said an open airport could be an airport with passenger flights, or freight flights, or with businesses operating out of it – but he said a “fully operational airport” is when all are happening at once.

In his speech to the Doncaster Chamber, Coppard said the airport was unlikely to be fully operational until 2028 – like with passenger flights.

As a result, the LDRS asked Coppard if even the Spring 2026 promise for an “open airport” was misleading – due to many believing it would mean holiday flights.

He said: “I think Spring 2026 was an interpretation of what an open airport looks like. I am out here now, talking to you, clarifying what a fully operational airport looks like.

“We have developed our understanding of what’s going on at the airport; what good looks like; what opportunity looks like; what the process looks like; over the last six-eight months, so since Christmas this has been a developing picture.”