Doncaster-Sheffield Airport (UK) – a blueprint to reopen an ex-private sector airport as a PPP?
Doncaster-Sheffield Airport, a brownfield conversion of an existing military airfield, opened in 2005.
Its prospects were scorned by many industry analysts, mainly on account of local opposition, but it did surprisingly well, eventually reaching almost 1.5 mppa in 2019.
But the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the withdrawal of LCC Wizz Air, did for it - Doncaster-Sheffield closed in 2022.
Immediately, local councils began planning to reopen it using public money (it had previously been owned and operated by Peel Airports).
Now, a deal has been done, which is awaiting final clearance at the end of Feb-2025, to lease the land for 125 years from Peel and to reopen the airport as a public facility, aided by two strategic partners, one of which is Munich Airport International, the German airport's external operation and investment wing.
There is confidence in the region that Doncaster-Sheffield can be made to work second time around, but it faces many challenges - they are outlined in this report, along with a résumé of how it got to this position in the first place.
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