Doncaster Sheffield Airport: £160m of public funding approved for airport reopening by South Yorkshire leaders

In a highly anticipated meeting of the SYMCA Board, members unanimously agreed to commit £159.52m to the City of Doncaster Council to support the re-opening and operation of Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA).

The decision has ensured that Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones’ pledge to reopen DSA, which closed in 2022, continues – as it is understood the project would likely have collapsed without the funding.

Delighted with the decision, Mayor Jones said in a speech: “This is an important day in our airport’s story. Today we have taken a huge step forward towards fully reopening our airport.

“This airport can and will be the success we all know it can be, it will not happen overnight, but this is a long-term investment in the Doncaster economy, to deliver jobs, growth and opportunities for our residents and future generations.

“And finally, I must thank the people of Doncaster, over the last three years this airport has been the number one question on the doorstep, in the pub and across our communities. This airport is for all of you, it will be the people’s airport. Now, onwards and upwards!”

Tuesday’s decision comes after South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard announced he would be voting to approve the funding commitment.

His announced backing followed a number of appearances when he appeared to attempted to temper expectations.

It was revealed following a speech to local business leaders in late August that the initial projected return of £9 to every £1 invested was no longer supported.

Instead, that ratio is now projected to be £2 for every £1 and the business plan for the airport relies on record passenger numbers – more than DSA ever achieved before its closure.

Speaking to a crowd after the meeting concluded, Mayor Coppard said: “There was never anything inevitable about us getting to this point today.

“Here, just 23 months after DSA was closed, we have taken the decision to commit £159.9m to reopen it next year, with freight operations in 2027 and commercial flights and passenger flights and a fully operational airport in 2028.”

The coming months will now focus on progressing the DSA project in order to get planes in the air.

Following the announcement passenger flights would be unlikely before 2028, Mayor Jones revealed in a statement that Doncaster Council aimed to have freight flights in the air by Summer 2026.

The LDRS understands that the Reform UK-led Audit and Overview and Scrutiny committees at Doncaster Council will meet to discuss the airport topic.

Once these meetings have taken place, Mayor Jones’ cabinet will do the same ahead of November 2025’s full council meeting.

With unanimous backing for the investment, it meant the board’s other members – including leaders of local government in Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham – also backed the investment.

Councillor Tom Hunt, leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “Today I have voted to support the reopening of the airport as I know that this airport has significant potential to bring good jobs with good wages to the people of South Yorkshire.

“There’s huge potential for significant jobs, growth for families across our region.”

Coun Hunt stressed the importance of ensuring public transport connectivity to DSA is developed alongside the reopening – referring to rail links and buses.

Coun Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, said: “Having an airport in South Yorkshire is a vote of confidence in the economic future of South Yorkshire.

“What all the South Yorkshire areas have started to show is that you can do regeneration on a big scale but you can only do that when the public sector and private sector work together.

“We will be able to offer access to the global markets in a way that only a handful of other areas can do.”