A decision on whether to provide almost £160m of funding to support the reopening of  Doncaster Sheffield Airport will be made by South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard and council leaders next week.

The decision will be made at a meeting of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) board on 9 September. The funding will be on top of the £16m already committed previously by the board. The meeting will consider three options:

• Approve up to £160m of funding to City of Doncaster Council to fully reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA).
• Defer decision pending further assurance and completion of commercial negotiations.
• Withdraw from public funding and seek alternative delivery models

South Yorkshire's mayor says he will “confidently vote in favour” of the funding which, if approved and the site reopens,  the first summer season for scheduled commercial flights is likely to commence in 2028, although there is the possibility of some charter and cargo flights from winter 2027.

The report for the meeting acknowledges the project is not without risk to the taxpayer given the sums of public funding involved, however, it recommends the approval of the £160m project subject to a number of conditions to address a few outstanding concerns.

In April, the government backed plans by South Yorkshire’s mayor to invest £30m of devolved funding into reopening Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

The plans are forecasted to support 5,000 jobs, boost the economy by £5bn and provide wider benefits of £2bn by 2050. 

The government also confirmed it had established a working group with Doncaster Council and SYMCA to support local efforts to reopen the airport and explore how the project could unlock wider benefits in the region.

DSA was closed in November 2022 by its owner, leaving South Yorkshire one of the largest city regions without an aviation presence. The closure impacted upon residents’ ability to travel, disrupted existing businesses and impacted upon business confidence for the future.

Since it closed, the Mayors of South Yorkshire and Doncaster, along with local authority partners and central government have worked to explore the opportunity to return aviation to the region through a reopened airport with a viable future.

This includes City of Doncaster Council acquiring land and assets through a 125-year long-lease; starting the regulatory process for the reinstatement of airspace; the appointment of an airport operator in Munich International Airports (MIA); and the award of over £16m in SYMCA funding to support site holding costs, preparatory operational activity, and business case development.

The South Yorkshire Airport City project  vision has also been worked on – a 10-year plan for economic growth in which a reopened airport is an anchor for the development of the wider Gateway East site including reconnecting the region to global markets. It will capitalise on the region being the UK’s first Investment Zone focused on advanced manufacturing engineering and creating a sustainable aviation hub. McLaren, Boeing, Rolls-Royce and Hybrid Air Vehicles have already chosen to locate in the region.

South Yorkshire’s mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: “I couldn’t be more pleased to be able to confirm that next Tuesday, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Board will be considering the decision to commit nearly £160m pounds to support the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport and the development of a sustainable aviation and advanced manufacturing hub at Gateway East.

“It’s taken some time to get here. We’ve done a huge amount of work. Over the last few days and weeks in particular, my team have been working at pace. But that work is now completed, and we have a final deal in front of us. I can’t speak for others, but I’m really proud to be able to finally say, after looking at all the evidence, the risks and the opportunities, I am now able to confidently vote in favour of that funding.  

“We’ve done our homework, which is why we can now take a fully-informed decision about the future, based on data, insight and robust expertise.

“So, on Tuesday 9 September, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority board, chaired by me, will take the decision on the future of that funding. All five members of the MCA Board will have a vote. There will be an important debate on the day, which I will of course listen to before casting my vote. Now we know everything we can about the project, I’ll be thrilled to be able to argue in favour of releasing that funding at that meeting.”