Mayor Ros Jones has welcomed the unanimous decision by South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) to grant City of Doncaster Council (CDC) its gainshare funding.
The funding, up to £160mn, will enable the council to press ahead with its work to fully reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
Work has been continuing behind the scenes whilst SYMCA carried out additional assurance work to recommend to South Yorkshire leaders today that City of Doncaster Council should have its gainshare of funding approved.
This now means that Mayor Ros Jones and the council can continue to deliver the work needed to fully reopen the airport.
The potential dates for opening have shifted following the funding decision.
The aim is to have freight flights resume in summer 2026 and passenger flights being able to be booked from autumn/winter 2026 for flights towards the end of the following year.
“I have said all along that I want our airport to fully reopen as soon as possible,” said Jones.
“I outlined last week that, in terms of people wanting to go on holiday from Doncaster, we want to see bookings being taken before the end of 2026, with holidays available for the winter 2027/28 season.
“Freight flights will resume sooner simply because of the logistics.”
He continued: “We have not been sitting idly by waiting to see if this funding will be agreed, we have carried on with our work to prepare for our airport to be fully reopened.
“This includes working with the Civil Aviation Authority to redesign the airspace needed and getting essential infrastructure back in as soon as we can, such as radar, air traffic control, fire service and other matters in place.
“One of the biggest next steps is for Fly Doncaster and CDC to bring on board the right senior roles that we need to manage the airport along with Munich Airport International (MAI), who are our strategic partners.
“This week will see the first tranche of those essential managerial roles being advertised.
“This is the start of the recruitment and more will come once these are in place.
“I want to stress that I am a firm believer that our airport will be the jewel in the crown of our economy, not just in Doncaster but across the wider region.
“It will stimulate growth, be the catalyst for business and industry and provide incredible opportunities for our residents and businesses.”
Jones thanked fellow South Yorkshire leaders for their support and also the public and businesses who have continued to provide backing and added: “There is a lot more work to be done for me and my team in Doncaster to deliver the airport’s full reopening and that’s what we are going to do.
“I will update on those key milestones when we reach them so, for now, let’s look forward to a bright future for the city, our airport and the wider region and celebrate this milestone reached.”
