South Yorkshire authorities agree deal to buy closed Doncaster Sheffield airport

Local government authorities in South Yorkshire intend to buy the closed Doncaster Sheffield airport from its current owner, moving efforts to re-open the site forward.

Under the agreement, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority would purchase the airport and a neighbouring parcel of business land from Peel Land. The deal is scheduled for formal approval by the combined authority on 27 October and also needs the backing of the Peel board.

The airport closed in 2022 after owner Peel Group said it could not justify keeping the loss-making facility open. South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard said the deal puts the airport's future back in local hands. Months of negotiations had brought the parties to this point, he said.

Freight services are planned to return from autumn 2027, with passenger flights following in spring 2028, provided the necessary operational and regulatory work is finished. The combined authority said the project carries risk for the taxpayer given the scale of public funding involved. Spending is planned on equipment including a new radar system. It expects the site to draw private investment and to support an aerospace and sustainable aviation hub.

Coppard said the UK government's devolution programme had given the effort greater flexibility.