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Doncaster Sheffield Airport Robin Hood Airport
IATA: DSA ICAO: EGCN
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Peel Group
Operator	Doncaster Sheffield Airport Limited
Serves	South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire
Location	Finningley, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Opened	28 April 2005 (2005-04-28)
Closed	30 November 2022 (2022-11-30)
Passenger services ceased	4 November 2022 (2022-11-04)
Elevation AMSL	56 ft / 17 m
Coordinates	53°28′31″N 01°00′15″W / 53.47528°N 1.00417°W / 53.47528; -1.00417
Map
DSALocation in South Yorkshire
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 02/20 2,893 9,491 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Passengers 1,407,862 Passenger change (18–19) 15.2% Aircraft Movements 23,043 Movements change (18–19) 21.7%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority

Doncaster Sheffield Airport (IATA: DSA, ICAO: EGCN), formerly named and commonly referred to as Robin Hood Airport, was an international airport in Finningley near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England, in operation between 2005 and 2022. The site lies 6 mi (10 km) south-east of the centre of Doncaster and 19 mi (31 km) east of Sheffield.

History

1915–1995: RAF Finningley

The airport was opened as Finningley Airfield in 1915.

During the First World War, it was a base for the Royal Flying Corps to intercept German Zeppelins targeting industrial cities of Northern England. In the Second World War the airfield was primarily used for training, serving RAF Bomber Command crews; only a few combat missions took off. It was a key facility for nuclear-armed Vulcan bombers in the Cold War before downgrade to training in the 1970s / 1980s and decommissioning by 1995.

The long runway was a Space Shuttle emergency landing site.

2005–2016: Robin Hood Airport

Following the end of scheduled services from Sheffield City Airport, Peel Group opened former RAF Finningley as Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield in April 2005. The Robin Hood label controversially referenced historical accounts placing him in nearby Barnsdale Forest not Sherwood Forest but 11,000 people petitioned to oppose the name.

Promoters initially hoped for 25 million passengers a year. In 2007, one million used the airport. This decreased to 700,000 in 2012, before increasing to just 1.25 million in 2016.

2016–2022: Doncaster Sheffield Airport

In December 2016, Robin Hood Airport rebranded as Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

Flybe closed its facility at the airport in 2019, relocating crew and aircraft, though Wizz Air based two aircraft there in 2020. However in 2022, it too announced the end of flights from the airport stating the airport operators were "unable to guarantee the terms of its commercial agreement". That left TUI Airways as the airport's sole regular customer.

After an extended review and public consultation, Peel proposed an expansion of their adjacent Gateway East property development and the airport closed. TUI operated the final flights on 4 November 2022, and Wizz Air transferred its routes to Leeds Bradford Airport.

Doncaster Council applied for judicial review of the closure process but was refused. In response, the Mayor of Doncaster announced the council's intention to compulsory purchase.

Nevertheless, air traffic control was withdrawn from the airport in December 2022, and the Civil Aviation Authority began to reclassify surrounding airspace.

Post-closure

After protracted negotiation, in March 2024 the Mayor confirmed a 125 year lease to take over the airport had been signed. She subsequently stated an operator had been identified and that she hoped the airport could re-open by Spring 2026.

On 12 November 2024, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority agreed to £3m funding of reinstatement activities and commercial negotiation, as part of a £138m budget to re-open the airport. Flydoncaster Ltd was incorporated on 8 November 2024.

On 6 December 2024, a utility aircraft, operated by 2Excel Aviation, landed at the airport, the first in over 2 years.

Facilities

The airport has a single runway designated 02/20, with dimensions of 2,895 by 60 m (9,498 by 197 ft). It was designed for long-range nuclear armed bombers and so is wider than other commercial airports in the north of England.

The passenger terminal had 24 check-in desks, six departure gates and three baggage carousels.

A 102 bed Ramada Encore hotel opened in 2008. It is situated less than ten minutes walk from the Terminal building but is now used to hold immigrants awaiting decisions on their asylum cases.

There are four on-site car parks.

Airport business park

In 2014, a 10-hectare (25-acre) site on the airport's business park became part of Sheffield City Region Enterprise Zone.

Hangars

No. 3 Hangar was occupied by 2Excel Aviation providing Design, production and Maintenance services. Defence company BAE Systems formerly operated its Aircraft Maintenance Academy from No. 3 Hangar at the airport, before moving to Humberside Airport. Other activities within the hangars included from 2012, a Cessna Citation service centre.

Flight training

The airport was home to Yorkshire Aero Club and Hummingbird Helicopters.

Statistics

Traffic statistics

Doncaster Sheffield Airport
passenger totals 2005–2019 (millions)

Traffic statistics at Doncaster Sheffield

Year	Passengers handled	Passenger % change	Cargo (tonnes)	Cargo % change	Aircraft movements	Aircraft % change
2005	600,907		31		6,914
2006	900,067	49.8	167	438.7	10,642	53.9
2007	1,078,374	19.8	1,602	859.3	12,667	19.0
2008	968,481	10.2	1,350	15.7	13,066	3.1
2009	835,768	13.7	344	74.5	10,854	16.9
2010	876,153	4.8	216	37.2	11,030	1.6
2011	822,877	6.1	102	52.8	11,876	7.7
2012	693,661	15.7	276	170.6	11,724	1.3
2013	690,351	0.5	354	28.3	11,197	4.5
2014	724,885	5.0	858	142.4	11,697	4.5
2015	857,109	18.2	3,201	273.1	11,998	2.6
2016	1,255,907	46.5	9,341	191.8	16,098	34.2
2017	1,335,590	6.3	8,656	7.3	17,435	8.3
2018	1,222,347	8.4	7,107	17.8	18,930	8.5
2019	1,407,862	15.2	17,647	148.3	23,043	21.7

Busiest routes

20 busiest routes to and from Doncaster Sheffield Airport (2019)

Rank	Airport	Passengers handled	% change 2018–19
1	Bucharest	96,612	52.0
2	Katowice	82,279	1.1
3	Gdańsk	80,842	10.1
4	Alicante	68,583	9.7
5	Warsaw	67,711	1.5
6	Vilnius	58,793	43.3
7	Palma de Malloca	55,197	4.4
8	Poznań	54,514	7.9
9	Tenerife–South	51,309	0.6
10	Amsterdam	48,840	16.2
11	Riga	43,937	3.6
12	Málaga	42,299	12.5
13	Budapest	42,116	592.6
14	Cluj Napoca	41,165	14.3
15	Lanzarote	39,993	1.5
16	Kraków	39,345	n/a
17	Wroclaw	35,194	1.4
18	Debrecen	33,605	2187.6
19	Dublin	29,779	11.5
20	Paphos	24,528	9.4

Vulcan XH558

In 2011, the Vulcan to the Sky Trust flew Avro Vulcan XH558 to the airport, its former operational base. It was the last airworthy example of the Vulcan bomber fleet, restored to flight by the trust in 2007. XH558's final flight was a display over the airport, on 28 October 2015.

In 2022, the trust announced it would leave the airport because its lease could not be renewed. Nevertheless, as of October 2024, the trust and XH558 remained at the airport awaiting negotiations with a new operator.

Transport

The airport is close to M18 motorway junction 3 and a road to it was completed in 2018.

Doncaster railway station on the East Coast Main Line, and the Frenchgate Interchange are 7 mi (11 km) away.

The airport abuts the Doncaster to Lincoln railway line, and plans for a station to replace one that closed in 1961 were granted planning permission in 2008. However, a 2012 report by Network Rail stated that more trains on the line would be required to make it viable. There have been proposals for a dedicated link to the East Coast Main Line.

Accident

On 15 August 2014, Jestream 31 G–GAVA, operating a Links Air flight from Belfast City Airport, crashed on landing at the airport following a landing gear failure; this caused substantial damage to the aircraft. One passenger was taken to hospital with minor injuries. The airport was closed for several hours.

In media

In 2007, the airport featured in the BBC Two documentary Should I Really Give Up Flying? Brian Blessed explored local attitudes to flying and its impact on the environment.

It has been a location for television series including ITV's Emmerdale, BBC One's drama Hustle, and In the Club.

The airport appeared in Four Lions and was a settings for the BBC mockumentary Come Fly with Me. Matt Lucas and David Walliams spent two weeks at the airport filming.

RAF Finningley was destroyed by a Soviet nuclear warhead in 1984 TV film Threads.

References

1. "Doncaster Sheffield – EGCN" (PDF). NATS. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
2. ^ "UK Annual Airport Statistics". CAA. 3 March 2017. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
3. ^ Delve, Ken (2006). The Military Airfields of Britain – Northern England : Co. Durham, Cumbria, Isle of Man, Lancashire, Merseyside, Manchester, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Yorkshire. Marlborough: Crowood Press. ISBN 1-86126-809-2.
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7. "Doncaster Sheffield Airport's future in doubt". BBC News. 13 July 2022. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
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37. "Final Flight report". Vulcan To The Sky. 30 October 2015. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
38. "Doncaster: Vulcan XH558 to be moved from South Yorkshire home". BBC News. 15 August 2022. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
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41. Network Rail, Route Specifications 2012 – London North Eastern, p. 76
42. "Proposed £280 million Doncaster airport rail link could create 70,000 jobs". Doncaster Free Press. 21 March 2018. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
43. "Robin Hood airport remains closed". Press Associatiom. 16 August 2014. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018 – via The Guardian.
44. "British Aerospace 3102 Jetstream 31 G-GAVA Doncaster/Sheffield-Robin Hood Airport". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
45. "Emmerdale filming takes place at Doncaster's Robin Hood Airport". Doncaster Free Press. 26 January 2017. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
46. "Hustlers take over airport for two days of filming". Robin Hood Airport. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
47. "Four Lions (2010) : Filming Locations". IMDb.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
48. Burke, Darren (14 July 2022). "Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Call for TV's David Walliams and Matt Lucas to join fight". Doncaster Free Press. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
49. Hogan, Michael (9 April 2018). "Britain after the atomic bomb: why Threads is more terrifying than ever". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 June 2023.

External links

Media related to Doncaster Sheffield Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• United Kingdom
• Aviation

• Airports in England
• Aviation in Doncaster
• Transport in Doncaster
• Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster
• Peel Airports
• Airports in Yorkshire
• Defunct airports in England
• Airports established in 2005
• Airports disestablished in 2022
• 2005 establishments in England
• 2022 disestablishments in England