Doncaster Sheffield Airport Robin Hood Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Peel Group | ||||||||||
| Operator | Doncaster Sheffield Airport Limited | ||||||||||
| Serves | South Yorkshire,Lincolnshire | ||||||||||
| Location | Finningley, nearDoncaster,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″N01°00′15″W / 53.47528°N 1.00417°W /53.47528; -1.00417 | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  EGCN Location in South Yorkshire | |||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2019) | |||||||||||
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Doncaster Sheffield Airport (ICAO:EGCN), formerly named and commonly referred to asRobin Hood Airport, was aninternational airport inFinningley nearDoncaster inSouth Yorkshire, England, in operation between 2005 and 2022. The site lies 6 mi (10 km) south-east of the centre ofDoncaster and 19 mi (31 km) east ofSheffield. Plans to reopen the airport were announced on 9 April 2025.[3]
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The airport was opened as Finningley Airfield in 1915.
During theFirst World War, it was a base for theRoyal Flying Corps to intercept GermanZeppelins targeting industrial cities ofNorthern England. In theSecond World War the airfield was primarily used for training,[4]: 127–128 servingRAF Bomber Command crews; only a few combat missions took off. It was a key facility for nuclear-armedVulcan bombers in theCold War before downgrade to training in the 1970s / 1980s and decommissioning by 1995.[4]: 132
The long runway was aSpace Shuttle emergency landing site.[citation needed]
Following the end of scheduled services fromSheffield City Airport,Peel Group opened former RAF Finningley as Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield in April 2005.[5][6] TheRobin Hood labelcontroversially referenced historical accounts placing him in nearbyBarnsdale Forest notSherwood Forest but 11,000 people petitioned to oppose the name.[7] In May 2006,Thomsonfly launched the first long-haul flight from Doncaster toPuerto Plata.[8]
Promoters initially hoped for 25 million passengers a year.[9] In 2007, one million used the airport. This decreased to 700,000 in 2012, before increasing to just 1.25 million in 2016.[2]
In December 2016, Robin Hood Airportrebranded as Doncaster Sheffield Airport.[citation needed]
Flybe closed its facility at the airport in 2019, relocating crew and aircraft,[10] thoughWizz Air based two aircraft there in 2020.[11][12] However in 2022, it too announced the end of flights from the airport[13] stating the airport operators were "unable to guarantee the terms of its commercial agreement".[citation needed] That leftTUI Airways as the airport's sole regular customer.[13]
After an extended review and public consultation,[14][15] Peel proposed an expansion of their adjacent Gateway East property development[16] and the airport closed. TUI operated the final flights on 4 November 2022,[16] and Wizz Air transferred its routes toLeeds Bradford Airport.[17]
Doncaster Council applied forjudicial review of the closure process but was refused.[18] In response, theMayor of Doncaster announced the council's intention tocompulsory purchase.[19]
Nevertheless,air traffic control was withdrawn from the airport in December 2022,[20] and theCivil Aviation Authority began to reclassify surrounding airspace.[21]
After protracted negotiation,[22][23][24] in March 2024 the mayor of Doncaster obtained a 125 year lease over the airport.[25] That November, theSouth Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority agreed to £3m funding of reinstatement activities and commercial negotiation,[26] as part of a £138m re-opening budget.[27]
On 6 December 2024, autility aircraft, operated by 2Excel Aviation, landed at the airport, the first in over two years.[28]
In February 2025,Munich Airport International were appointed airport operators[29] for a potential reopening in spring 2026.[30] However, several industry commentators questioned Doncaster Sheffield Airport's viability.[31]
The airport has a singlerunway designated 02/20, with dimensions of 2,895 by 60 m (9,498 by 197 ft). It was designed for long-rangenuclear armed bombers and so is wider than other commercial airports in the north of England.[citation needed]
The passenger terminal has 24check-in desks, sixdeparture gates and threebaggage carousels.[when?][citation needed]
A 102-bedRamada Encore hotel opened in 2008.[32]
There are four on-site car parks.[33]
In 2014, a 10-hectare (25-acre) site on the airport'sbusiness park became part ofSheffield City Region Enterprise Zone.[34]
No. 3Hangar was occupied by 2Excel Aviation providing Design, production and Maintenance services.Defence companyBAE Systems formerly operated its Aircraft Maintenance Academy from No. 3 Hangar at the airport, before moving toHumberside Airport.[citation needed][when?] Other activities within the hangars included from 2012, aCessna Citation service centre.[35]
The airport was home to Yorkshire Aero Club[36] and Hummingbird Helicopters.[37][when?]
 |
| 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 |
| 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 Mallorca | 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 |
In 2011, the Vulcan to the Sky Trust flewAvro Vulcan XH558 to the airport, its former operational base. It was the last airworthy example of the Vulcanbomber fleet, restored to flight by the trust in 2007.[39] XH558's final flight was a display over the airport, on 28 October 2015.[40]
In 2022, the trust announced it would leave the airport because itslease could not be renewed.[41] Nevertheless, as of October 2024, the trust and XH558 remained at the airport awaiting negotiations with a new operator.[42]
The airport is close toM18 motorway junction 3 and a road to it was completed in 2018.[43]
Doncaster railway station on theEast Coast Main Line, and theFrenchgate Interchange are 7 mi (11 km) away.[citation needed]
The airport abuts theDoncaster to Lincoln railway line, and plans for a station to replaceone that closed in 1961 were granted planning permission in 2008. However, a 2012 report byNetwork Rail stated that more trains on the line would be required to make it viable.[44] There have been proposals for adedicated link to theEast Coast Main Line.[45]
On 15 August 2014,Jestream 31 G–GAVA, operating aLinks Air flight fromBelfast City Airport, crashed on landing at the airport following alanding 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.[46][47]
In 2007, the airport featured in theBBC Two documentaryShould I Really Give Up Flying?Brian Blessed explored local attitudes to flying and its impact on the environment.[citation needed]
It has been a location for television series includingITV'sEmmerdale,[48]BBC One's dramaHustle[49] andIn the Club.[citation needed]
The airport appeared inFour Lions[50] and was a setting for the BBCmockumentaryCome Fly with Me.Matt Lucas andDavid Walliams spent two weeks at the airport filming.[51]
RAF Finningley was destroyed by aSoviet nuclear warhead in the 1984 TV filmThreads.[52]
Media related toDoncaster Sheffield Airport at Wikimedia Commons
