Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) is to close at the end of the year, its owners have confirmed, despite an offer of financial help from public funds.
Local politicians said they were devastated by the Peel Group’s decision, which puts hundreds of workers out of business and comes days after new Prime Minister Liz Truss said she had instructed ministers to protect the airport .
The Peel Group, which had extended a public consultation period by 10 days, said a strategic review had ended with no clear proposal on the financial viability of the airport site or a potential buyer.
Peel said the high costs of running Doncaster Sheffield, whose flight numbers have more than halved since 2019, meant the airport would begin suspending operations from October 31 .
The company is in consultation with staff, with hundreds of people working at the airport at risk of losing their jobs.
Local politicians criticized the decision. South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “I am devastated by Peel’s announcement today and angry at the impact it will have on our communities.”
He said he hoped the Prime Minister would intervene. “Liz Truss said she would protect the airport. Now is the time to turn those words into action.”
Coppard said the airport had received public money for years but had declined the offer of continued support as well as the opportunity to meet potential news investors.
He said: “The fact that they have chosen to reject our offer simply confirms what many of us suspected – that Peel was never serious about finding an alternative and safeguarding the future of DSA.
“It is not too late for them to do the right thing; to reconsider their decision for the sake of the employees, businesses and communities directly affected by this terrible decision.”
Peel Group said it had received a letter from the mayor’s office earlier this month, saying a group interested in buying the airport had come forward, but had not received further details about that potential buyer.
The company added: “Unfortunately, no tangible proposals have been received regarding the ownership of the airport or that address the fundamental lack of financial viability.”
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Peel said the offer of public funds to cover its operating losses until the end of October 2023 while a new owner was found would be an inappropriate way to spend public money “in the context of an operating business unviable and loss-making”.
The airport opened in 2005, converted by Peel from the former RAF Finningley airbase. Owners have said DSA never attracted enough passengers to be profitable.
The airport was hit by the collapse of air travel during the Covid-19 pandemic and the loss of flights by two low-cost airlines, Flybe and Wizz Air. Flybe failed in early 2020 and Wizz Air stopped flying DSA in June, leaving Tui as the only carrier using its facilities.
According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, some 4,600 flights took off from DSA in 2019, mainly Wizz Air and Flybe, but only 1,817 were scheduled for 2021.