New airport gets the go-ahead
Up to 2 million passengers will use the airport
Plans to build a new £80m international airport in Yorkshire, creating up to 7,000 jobs, have been approved by the government.
Developers Peel Airports will transform the former RAF Finningley site on the outskirts of Doncaster into a commercial airport transporting up to 2m passengers a year.
Airlines are expected to operate flights to major European destinations, although the runway is also long enough to cater for long-haul.
The decision follows a drawn-out public inquiry which lasted for more than a year, with objectors concerned about noise, pollution and environmental impact.
Robert Hough, chairman of Peel Airports, which also run Liverpool Airport, said: “The Finningley site is a national asset and will play a key role in the regeneration of South Yorkshire, a European Union Objective One area.
Robert Hough: The airport is a national asset
“We now can look forward to bringing economic benefits to the region through the development of the airport, which will be vital to determining where future economic activity will be.”
David Marlow, chief executive of Doncaster Council, said: “Doncaster Council has fully supported the proposal for an airport at Finningley and our faith has been justified.”
Don Valley MP Caroline Flint added: “I am absolutely delighting – it’s been a long campaign.
“We have finally got there and everybody that has been involved in supporting Finningley as an airport for Doncaster and South Yorkshire should be very pleased with themselves.”
Increased competition
Disappointment at the government’s decision has come from the owners of Manchester Airport.
Manchester Airports Group (MAG) is the majority shareholder in Humberside Airport and the owner of East Midlands Airport.
The group chief executive of MAG, Geoff Muirhead, said: “We are not persuaded by the case for Finningley and still believe that Yorkshire and the Humber needs more airlines, not more airports.
“However, Humberside has grown very successfully during the lifetime of the Finningley proposal adding a wealth of new routes and charter operators to its schedule.
“We are confident that Humberside will continue to blossom as a first-rate local airport serving the whole of the Humber region.”
Leeds Bradford International Airport says it remains confident it is not going to suffer because of Finningley.
The airport says that recent developments – including the introduction of low cost airlines – will enable it to beat off the competition.
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Good news for SOuth Yporks – but Leeds, Humberside and East Mids i’m sure will al loose out – the phraise “Yorkshire needs more Airlines not Airports” seems oh so true!
By: EGNM - 6th April 2003 at 23:11
i believe shes gone through that menopause thing now!
By: wysiwyg - 6th April 2003 at 22:05
…and the delivery room for baby Saab 340’s!
By: EGNM - 6th April 2003 at 21:35
one market i reckon it could do well in is if it got a large contractor for maintenance and re-painting for the big leasing companies – isn’t Lindkopping in Sweden primarily a maintainance field as well as the home of WestAir
By: mongu - 6th April 2003 at 20:47
True, but most airlines (especially the British ones) dislike airports away from London, for various reasons.
The UK. A one city country.
By: flyingfemme - 6th April 2003 at 14:38
Surely more airports away from London are a good idea?
Anything that saves a drive longer than the flight must be better!
By: EGNM - 6th April 2003 at 10:33
yea in days gone by Airtours (now MyTravel) wanted a big facility there, but pulled out there support a couple of years back! Ryanair again could be a big one – they fly to Leeds (3/4x daily)and Teeside (1x) from dublin – and thats it this side of the pennines! Nearest Locos are bmibaby at EMA nad Je2 at LBA in any real presence – then you are talking LIV and NCL (both Easyjet)
By: mongu - 6th April 2003 at 00:06
Who’s taking bets on what Ryanair will call Finningley?
My bet is “Manchester South” or maybe “Amsterdam West”.
By: MSR777 - 5th April 2003 at 17:29
I’ve heard that an early “operator” into Finningley could be Ryanair. I fear that could set the tone for the place!
By: EGNM - 5th April 2003 at 13:40
moterway extension isn’t going to happen Mongu – an apron extension is supposedly in the pipeline one the work in progress on the new southside has been completed, and an extra 500m on the 32 end would probably sufficienlt long enough to get our types of traffic down on
By: mongu - 5th April 2003 at 00:34
Are you being realistic there?
Runway extension, apron extension, motorway access? Your faith in the authorities is touching.
By: EGNM - 4th April 2003 at 22:56
Agreed Leeds is a bugger to get to, and needs a runway and Apron expansion – give it this and i’m certain it will outdo Finnigley
By: mongu - 4th April 2003 at 19:36
Leeds has some infrastructure problems and Humberside is a very small airport with fairly limited runway length.
EMA fits the bill but is simply too far away for a lot of people. I used to live in Hull and HUY was somewhere I used twice in 7 years. Ditto LBA. On the other hand I used MAN maybe 4 times a year, but it was always a bit of a trek. LBA was equally far away: it was closer but there are no major roads going to it, so the journey time there was about the same as MAN.
Sometimes I used to drive to LHR or LGW, but usually tried to connect on the shuttle from MAN.
Concusion: Finnigley is a sensible idea which I think will work. All the more so following the pathetic mess which was made of Sheffield City.
By: EGNM - 4th April 2003 at 17:17
similar, but in my opinion a load of what has been said seems to be lies.
Judging from the amount of tfc EGNM sees, this year is supposed to be our first year topping 2m pax. So if Finningly gets the transatlantic buisness and more international flights then this 2m pax p/a by 2015 seems to be more like 5 or 6 million. After all lets say 3x weekly B763 to Newark, and a few based B737s/A320 services to the european capitals etc etc, then a based tour operator that wants to move services from Manchester – it soon adds up.
Leeds is growing – if Jet2 continue to expand LBA have said they see an ioppertunity between them and bmi along to increase international tfc by 30% per annum.
One answer would be to make it a major freight hub – it passes the buck from leeds, but Easy Mids is only an hour down the road!
By: Ren Frew - 4th April 2003 at 16:50
Is your disliking along the same lines as Manchester Airport Group EGNM ?
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April 4, 2003 at 3:18 pm