South Yorkshire Business Community Writes to Aviation Minister, Calling for Urgent Resolution to Doncaster Sheffield Airport Airspace Issue

Representatives of South Yorkshire’s business community have today written to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Aviation, Maritime and Security, Mike Kane MP, calling for his help in getting the airspace above Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) reinstated.

This is not the first time that the advocacy group has tried to enlist Westminster’s support with this urgent matter, having previously petitioned the former Transport Secretary, Mark Harper MP, and then also his successor, Louise Haigh MP. The latter correspondence was recently met with an encouraging response as well, indicating that National Government is aware of just how high the stakes are here.

Despite this reassuring signal, South Yorkshire’s business community is growing concerned that DSA’s airspace has still yet to be reinstated. If the situation is resolved, it will make it considerably easier for the airport’s new (soon to be announced) owners to get it back up-and-running. On the other hand, until the airspace issue is taken care of, there will be inevitable delays in getting planes back in the sky, and any economic benefit that would arise from DSA finally reopening its doors will be deferred.

It is with all of that in mind that another letter has now been written, this time urging the Aviation Minister to work with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) so that they can, ideally, reinstate the airspace with immediate effect or, at the very least, fast-track the application to do so.

The document is signed by the respective Chief Executives for the three regional Chambers of Commerce (covering Doncaster, Sheffield and Barnsley & Rotherham), as well as by representatives from the Federation of Small Businesses, Make UK, The Confederation of British Industry for Yorkshire and the Humber, and the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire. Meanwhile, additional signatories include Tariq Shah (Co-Chair of the South Yorkshire Business Advisory Board), Peter Kennan (Co-Chair of the South Yorkshire Transport Forum) and Mark Chadwick (Founder of the #SaveDSA campaign). When pooled together, these organisations represent thousands of member businesses and so have real authority and weight when it comes to speaking on behalf of South Yorkshire’s private sector.

Articulating why the airspace issue is so important, while also explaining how the Aviation Minister can use his platform to resolve it, the letter reads:

“We are writing to you today as ambassadors for South Yorkshire’s private sector; between us representing thousands of diverse businesses from across the region.

“As you may know, we have jointly petitioned your ministerial colleagues in the past — including the Right Honourable Louise Haigh MP — asking them to support our ongoing efforts to reboot Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA). More specifically, we have urged the relevant politicians and officials to use their positions and influence to reinstate the airspace above DSA.

“Such an intervention would be of tremendous aid to our economy, as it would allow the site’s prospective new owner (due to be announced in the very near future) to get it back up-and-running with minimal delay. Conversely, if the airspace is still lacking the proper designation by the time this operator takes the reins, it will cause avoidable issues and needlessly defer any economic benefit that would otherwise arise from having a functioning airport in our region; including the rapid scale up of South Yorkshire’s Investment Zone.

“To be clear, however, this is much more than just a local issue. Indeed, while DSA’s significance for South Yorkshire cannot be overstated — representing, as it does, a potential £1.5 billion in net benefits for the area, as well as thousands upon thousands of jobs — we believe that this is a project that has farther-reaching implications. These include: 1) delivering the country’s nascent Industrial Strategy; 2) achieving the new Government’s core mission of delivering the strongest growth in the G7; and 3) fulfilling the ambition to encourage more SMEs to trade internationally.

“At a time when the UK economy is at its most fragile — and is in such desperate need of growth — local and national partners must work together to do everything possible to nurture the promising assets we have and remove any barriers to them unlocking their potential. In the case of DSA, that means ensuring that we can get planes in the sky as soon as possible.

“As representatives of our region’s private sector, we can only applaud the entrepreneurialism and tenacity of local politicians and the public sector in securing a 125-year lease of DSA and their firm commitment to rebooting this key economic asset.  We now call on national Government to show similar resolve and leadership.

“We were heartened when our last correspondence on this matter was met with an encouraging response from the Transport Secretary, indicating that the Government is aware of just how high the stakes are here. Yet, since then we, and the businesses we represent, have grown concerned that the DSA airspace issue has still not been resolved.

“Understanding that this falls within your purview as Aviation Minister, we are therefore reiterating our case once more, in the hope that we can get a swift resolution this time. In short, we are calling for you to work with the Civil Aviation Authority to, ideally, reinstate the airspace with immediate effect or to, at the very least, fast-track our application so that we can start looking forward to the exciting opportunities on the horizon.

“From our perspective, there should be no reason to delay. There has already been a remarkable team effort over the past two years to get us to this point — involving various political partners, the local authority, campaigning groups, and the private sector — and we cannot afford to let anything jeopardise that now.

“The business community — on whose behalf we are writing — is deeply invested in the future of DSA and has been extremely vocal about how much they want to see it thriving. They understand that successful economies need successful airports, and that’s an ambition that you can help us realise.

“With that said, we hope that we can count on your support here and would be delighted to meet with you or your officials to discuss this further.”