Doncaster Sheffield Airport Prepares for Final Flights

DALLAS - Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) will see its final flight touch down from Hurghada (HRG) on Friday, November 4. The last departure will be a positioning flight to Manchester (MAN) on November 5. Both services will be operated by the airport's only remaining airline, TUI (BY).

Over the weekend, the final BY and Wizz Air (W6) departures took place, with only inbound flights expected over the coming days. The terminal building is set to close its doors at 7:00 local time on November 5, with no further passenger activities taking place.

Passenger flights from DSA commenced in 2005. Photo: DSA.

Battle to Save the Airport

Despite a campaign to keep the airport open, owners Peel rejected an offer of public money to keep the facility open into next year, saying that DSA simply wasn't financially viable.

Oliver Coppard, South Yorkshire's Mayor who found investors to help secure the airport's future, said, "The airport is hugely important for the economy, it's hugely important for how we grow our economy, and yet if we lose it, that's going to be a problem."

"We are trying everything we can, we've offered Peel money to keep the airport open, we now need Peel to do the right thing," He added.

Meanwhile, Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones has instructed the council to begin legal action against Peel in an attempt to prevent the removal of critical assets. Jones previously stated that if DSA was "operated and managed correctly," it "could be viable."

TUI Boeing 737-800 (G-TAWH). Photo: Alberto Cucini/Airways

Peel Group Statement

A spokesperson for the Peel Group said, "DSA has begun a process of winding down the provision of aviation services and facilitating an orderly managed closure in close consultation with the regulatory bodies and in full compliance with our responsibilities. Peel Group has met with every party that the local authority has made an introduction to who have been willing to meet."

"Despite this, no credible proposal regarding the ownership of or addressing the lack of financial viability of DSA has yet been provided. In addition, DSA has received no approaches from any new airline to operate from the airport.

Throughout DSA's operation, no airline has ever been turned away and, in fact, significant financial incentivization has been paid to those new airlines that have commenced operations from the airport," they added.

Featured Image: TUI is the last remaining airline at DSA and will operate the airport's final passenger arrival. Photo: DSA.