SOUTH YORKSHIRE LEADERS VOTE FOR LONG-TERM PLAN TO FULLY REOPEN DONCASTER SHEFFIELD AIRPORT WITH £160M INVESTMENT

Published 9 September 2025 at 3:37pm

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard and Council Leaders have taken a historic decision to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport, approving a £160m (£159.52m) funding package that will see commercial flights return to the region.  

The decision was made at a meeting of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Board, held on Tuesday 9 September at Doncaster Sheffield Airport. All five board members voted unanimously in favour of the funding, paving the way for the airport’s reopening.  

The approved funding is on top of the £16m already committed previously by the Board. The decision was taken by the Board made up of South Yorkshire’s Mayor who chairs it, the Leader of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council Sir Steve Houghton, Mayor of City of Doncaster Council Ros Jones, Leader of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council Chris Read and Leader of Sheffield City Council Tom Hunt. 

Doncaster Sheffield Airport closed in November 2022, leaving South Yorkshire one of the largest UK city regions without an international aviation presence. 

Since it closed, the Mayors of South Yorkshire and Doncaster, along with local authority partners and central government have worked at pace to explore the opportunity to return aviation to the region through a reopened airport with a viable future.  

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard, said: “We’re reopening DSA. Today, we’ve made a historic decision; to invest in the plans to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport, and to create a sustainable aviation and advanced manufacturing hub at Gateway East.  

“I’ve always said I wanted to reopen DSA, but we needed to know exactly what the plan looked like. That’s why we’ve taken the time and done the work. No plan of this size or scale is ever easy, or without risks, but today we’ve taken a bold step forward, backed by data, expertise, and a shared vision for the type of South Yorkshire we want to build, because DSA is a unique opportunity.  

“The plan we have backed today is about more than holiday flights or passenger numbers, it’s a long-term commitment to drive jobs, growth and opportunities in sustainable aviation, advanced manufacturing, freight, and even the defence sector, here in South Yorkshire.” 

Mayor of City of Doncaster Council Ros Jones, said: “This is an important day in our airport’s story. Today we have taken a huge step forward towards fully reopening our airport. Over the last three years this airport has been the number one question on the doorstep, in the pub and across our communities. 
 
“This project is not simply to reopen our airport for passenger flights, it’s about the wider economic impacts, creating a hub for aviation related industry, delivering jobs and opportunities for our residents and putting Doncaster back on the map.” 

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said: “Our first mission was to fix the foundations of our economy, now we are investing in Britain’s renewal so that we can build an economy that works for, and rewards, working people.  

“The reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport is a huge milestone for communities and business across South Yorkshire, delivering better connections, jobs and economic growth.  

“We are ending the era of chaos and decline by choosing stability and investment, to grow our economy and put more money in working people’s pockets.” 
 
Lee Pitcher MP for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme, said: “This isn’t just an airport – this is our airport. Having DSA open again will bring growth, jobs and opportunities for my constituency. Most importantly, it will bring the heart back to our community.  
 
“For exactly that reason, when I was elected, my number one commitment was to get our airport reopened. Getting to where we are today has taken a huge team effort, and there is much still to do.  
 
“I will continue to work with everyone to ensure our reopened airport is the success this community deserves.” 
 
Now that a positive funding decision has been taken, significant passenger operations are not likely to commence until summer 2028 but with potential for limited passenger activity and cargo from winter 2027.