Doncaster Sheffield Airport set to come into public ownership

Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) is set to come under public ownership, with politicians on the cusp of agreeing a deal with landowner Peel.

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) will buy the airport and adjacent Innovation Quarter employment land - totalling more than 1,000 acres - subject to the deal going through.

It means SYMCA would become the freehold owner and landlord to the City of Doncaster Council lease.

A lengthy report with the financial details will go before senior councillors next week, but SYMCA officers say the "project is not without risk to the taxpayer given the sums of public funding involved".

The proposals are subject to formal approval by the SYMCA board next week and with the agreement of the board of Peel Land.

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard said it would be a major milestone in the region's progress towards reopening the airport and to create one of the UK's leading hubs for sustainable aviation, advanced manufacturing and innovation.

The purchase would "provide long-term control, certainty and flexibility", help create thousands of jobs and attract significant private investment, he said.

"This is a deal that puts the future of DSA back in our hands and finally gives one of the biggest and best growth opportunities in South Yorkshire the platform for the long-term success that it needs and deserves."

Coppard continued: "After months of negotiations and the growing flexibility afforded to us by the government's devolution agenda, we have come to an agreement for SYMCA to buy the airport and employment land from Peel.

"Subject to the agreement of the SYMCA board, the airport and surrounding employment land will be owned and controlled by us, for us; the people of South Yorkshire. This deal means our future will be in our own hands again."

The airport closed in November 2022 and since then, City of Doncaster Council has been working to reopen it with public funds after attempts to find a private operator were unsuccessful.

Originally Peel Land was going to lease the site but, over the last 12 months, negotiations have continued to explore options.

There has been devolution of powers and funding to the mayor, and Peel was able to reconsider an option that "was not commercially acceptable" to them in 2022, an SYMCA report said.

Stephen Wild, managing director of Peel Land, said: "There has been significant collaboration and we continue to work closely with our partners at the council and SYMCA to achieve the wider vision."

Buying the airport from Peel would mean local authorities would own both DSA and Fly Doncaster Ltd, the arm's-length company set up by City of Doncaster Council to run the airport.

In September 2025, SYMCA conditionally agreed to provide an additional £160m of funding to support the South Yorkshire Airport City project.

Freight services are planned to return from autumn 2027, with passenger services returning in spring 2028, subject to the regulatory and operational work required to reopen the airport.

The Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones said to have the airport in public ownership was "the right option".

"This is ambitious and the partnership with SYMCA builds on the strong foundations we have built up over the past four years.

"We have worked hard to get airspace certification and airfield readiness, getting key staff in place and importantly keeping those critical conversations with airlines, businesses and support services going."

Reform UK have the majority of councillors on City of Doncaster Council and were approached for comment.

Dan Fell, chief executive of Doncaster Chamber of Commerce, said the deal would bring certainty for decades to come.

"The region gets hold of the airport for the fullness of time and that's got to be a shrewd and sensible move," he said.

"It opens up different types of conversations and relationships with airlines and carriers, and with potential private sector investors.

"It signals the scale of the ambition for our region. It ensures our regional partners and the politicians have got real skin in the game to make this airport a success."

South Yorkshire leaders will consider the proposals at the SYMCA board meeting on 27 October.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds , catch up with the latest episode of Look North

Time short for airport lease negotiations - claim

Passenger flights unlikely to return until 2028

Cost to re-open airport projected to hit £193m

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority