Closed UK airport reveals latest in being able to reopen as part of huge £193million project
AN AIRPORT in the north of the country has taken one step closer to welcoming back passengers.
Doncaster Sheffield Airport closed in 2022 after operating for 17 years, but has been recently backed by the government to reopen.
Now, the regional airport has taken another step closer to welcoming flights as it is launching a search for an operational partner.
Operator Fly Doncaster is looking for a Fixed Based Operator to have a permanent place within the airport.
This type of organisation would provide services that include aircraft handling, fuelling, and parking.
What this means is that private flights could return to the airport before the end of 2026 – with plans for passengers flights much later.
Simon Hinchley, Executive Director for Airport Operations at Fly Doncaster said: “As we work towards reopening Doncaster Sheffield Airport, our focus is firmly on building a safe, efficient and operationally robust airport that is ready to serve a broad range of users from day one.”
In early 2025, the UK government revealed that £30million was being put towards its reopening.
More recently, a report for City of Doncaster Council’s cabinet announced that the cost of reopening the airport had risen to £193million.
Fly Doncaster said that when the airport reopens, it could see as many as four million passengers through its doors.
There has also been talks of a rail link to and from the airport that could have connections with the Lincoln Line and East Coast Mainline.
Prior to its closure, airlines like FlyBe, Wizz Air and TUI operated flights from Doncaster Sheffield.
As of yet, no airline has confirmed it will open base, but Doncaster East and Isle of Axholme Labour MP Lee Pitcher said last year that he was in talks with both Ryanair and TUI.
In July 2025, he told local media: “Yesterday, I chaired the latest meeting of the DSA Action Group, where we sat down with TUI’s UK & Ireland commercial director.
“It was a productive discussion, and we’ll continue to work with TUI, other key stakeholders, and push the Government to keep Doncaster Sheffield Airport firmly on the agenda.“
The airport is expected to be operational with passenger flights for summer 2028.
Another airport that is in talks to reopen is Manston Airport, in Kent which once offered flights from the UK to Europe.
Passenger services stopped when KLM pulled out of the airport in 2014.
The current plan is to reopen the airport for cargo planes which is scheduled for 2029.
There have been talks to start commercial flights once again, but this could take longer to start.
Tony Freudmann – the public face of the site’s owners, RiverOak Strategic Partners told Kent Online: “We need, by the time we open, to have enough advance commitment from cargo operators to see that it is going to work.
“At that point, if we get the right approach from passenger carriers, wanting us to build a passenger terminal and base some aircraft here, we’ll go with that.”
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