Doncaster locals have reacted to the Government backing a £30million investment plan to contribute the reopening of their regional airport.
Doncaster Sheffield Airport could see planes taking off again by spring next year, boosting the economy by £5billion, with 5,000 jobs created and further benefits of £2million by 2050.
South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard pushed forward the plans along with Doncaster Council and campaigners and politicians across the region.
It comes as the airport closed in November 2022, with the owners Peel Group citing that it was no longer financially viable.
GB News spoke to the people of Doncaster about investment plans for the airport reopening as South Yorkshire Airport City, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer today visiting the currently idle airport to back the plans.
Phil welcomed the proposals and said: "It should never have closed. It's about time we got some investment in Doncaster and the airport is one of the steps I suppose. They'll get people coming from far and wide to fly from Donny and it's something that local people need as well.
Doncaster residents vented that the airport should never have closed, but admitted fears of the cost of re-opening the transport hub
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"They need to invest £30million in the airport and £300million in the centre of Doncaster.
"Believe it or not, we go to Cleethorpes [on holiday] because I cannot be doing with the hassle of going to fly from Manchester or anywhere else - Doncaster was five minutes away from where we live, it was brilliant.
"It's a small airport and a lot better than going to Manchester or the East Midlands or anywhere else."
Sharon voiced concerns about the financial implications of funding the airport. She said: "Where's the investment coming from? It'll be us wont it? - Taxpayers.
"People or employers who want to come to Doncaster will see that we've got this thriving airport, but at the end of the day, it's us that's paid for it.
"Apparently it's a German company [that will operate the airport] what's that then?"
Leeds Bradford and Manchester Airport are currently the nearest airports for people from South Yorkshire to fly from. Doncaster locals said how much easier flying would be with an airport nearby.
George Philips said : "It's about time they opened it up. I can't fly but if I could get there, I would do, it's better than going to Manchester or Leeds and it's cheaper."
Gail agreed and said: "It's about time they opened it up and save people travelling to Leeds or Manchester and have to reconnect elsewhere."
Sandra added: "It was sad when the airport closed, we do need one. We used it to go to Jersey."
John Cooper said: "It will be a good thing when or if it happens, I don't see why it shut down in the first place."
Gordon Weeding added: "If it works out, it will be good, but they aren't going to keep it open if it's losing money are they?"
The airport was opened on the site of a former RAF base south of Doncaster in 2005, before shutting its doors in 2022, which resulted in around 800 job losses.
On Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said that she supported the move by South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard to reopen the site.
In January, Chancellor Rachel Reeves gave her backing for the reopening, suggesting that it be renamed South Yorkshire Airport City.
Doncaster Council has formed a fully-owned subsidiary called Fly Doncaster, and secured Munich Airport International as its strategic partner.
The collaboration will help to support the re-establishment of operations over a number of years.
Speaking on Wednesday, Rayner said: “If we are to really grow our economy and put money into the pockets of working people, regional growth needs to be hardwired into the decisions that we make.
“That’s why we have wasted no time in kick starting Local Growth Plans, owned by local leaders, and why, through our bold devolution plans, we can back our mayors and get opportunities for jobs and growth off the ground – just as they will with this thriving regional airport.
“Previous governments stood by as Doncaster Sheffield Airport was closed by its owner despite the overwhelming support for it to stay open.”
She continued: “It now sits idle despite the potential to drive jobs and growth across the north.
“I am delighted to work with City of Doncaster Council and the Mayor of South Yorkshire Oliver Coppard to support their efforts to recreate South Yorkshire Airport City as a thriving regional airport.”
Coppard added: “Since day one, we have been fighting for our airport, so we can create good jobs in the industries of the future and play our part in developing the sustainable aviation technologies of tomorrow.
“To now have the support of a government who don’t just understand that opportunity but truly want to help us realise it, couldn’t be more important.”
The investment will allow the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) to deploy its devolved funding to bankroll the critical infrastructure that is required for the site.
Council bosses hope to attract four to five airlines to fly out of the reopened Doncaster Sheffield Airport while quadrupling the amount of freight traffic coming through the site.
Doncaster Sheffield Airport was formerly known as Robin Hood Airport. In 2019, the airport handled almost 1.5 million passengers. In contrast Leeds Bradford saw just under four million passengers and Liverpool saw five million in that same year. It served a host of destinations, including Berlin, Dubrovnik, Paris, Alicante and Mallorca.
