AN ABANDONED UK airport that was set to re-open in 2027 has been hit by a £193million blow.
The site is also expected to make a loss for the first nine years, which is an increase from its previous estimate of five.
South Yorkshire council leaders and South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, approved spending £160m of public money to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA).
Previous owners, Peel Group closed the airport in 2022 after it continued to make yearly losses.
But, Mayor Coppard said reopening the airport would support 5,000 jobs, boost the economy by £5bn and provide wider benefits of £2bn by 2050.
However, the projected cost of re-opening has now risen by nearly £50m to £193m, according to City of Doncaster Council’s cabinet.
Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones said the rising costs in the report set out the challenges and opportunities in a project “of this size and scale”.
She added that re-opening the airport was a massive undertaking but one that was “vital for the future prosperity, well-being and economic growth of the city, region and the country.”
She also stated: “The ambition is that the airport does become a success story for Doncaster and South Yorkshire.”
The report, however, says the £160m will only be released in annual instalments and will not cover all the start-up costs of the first few years.
Councillors will therefore need to approve a £57m bridging loan to get the airport up and running.
However, the papers also suggest there is a chance that costs may continue to spiral even further by 20 per cent.
This would put the overall reopening costs at £222m, and the papers say that if this takes place – closing DSA would need to be considered.
The report explains: “The profile of the additional costs and extent of the increases would impact on the borrowing costs; therefore, the consideration of the potential closure decision point would need to be regularly evaluated, and scenarios updated.”
According to the council papers, the airport is projected to make losses for the first nine years of operation (2026-2034) of £81.1m.
However, the council is predicting that from 2034 onwards the airport will start to make a profit, totalling £230m before tax and interest by 2049.
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The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority had already allocated £16.1m to the project, with City of Doncaster Council expected to provide further funding of £17.4m.
A South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority spokesperson told The Sun: “These numbers are not new, nor do they identify any new risks.
“We’ve always been very clear and upfront about the commercial and financial challenges we have taken on when committing to reopening Doncaster Sheffield Airport, and the need for public financial support for those plans in the medium term.
“That’s why we took extra time and undertook significant added due diligence before agreeing the MCA’s funding commitment in September.
“The figures released in the City of Doncaster Council’s papers remain in line with the funding envelope we set for the project at that point.
“The information in CDC’s papers has been made available because of that additional work, which helped us understand the risks and opportunities of reopening DSA.
“The extensive work we have undertaken makes clear that reopening DSA and creating a world leading sustainable aviation and advanced manufacturing hub at Gateway East offers a unique opportunity for jobs and growth.
“We will remain diligent in the protection of taxpayers’ money as we pursue that opportunity, while recognising the risks and challenges we face developing a project of this size and scale. As we have been throughout, we will continue to be transparent and accountable throughout this process.”
The airport is expected to be fully operational with passenger flights, planned for summer 2028.