Aviation expert's warning to Doncaster Sheffield Airport on attracting airlines

John Strickland hails from Ilkley and has worked with several airlines including British Airways and KLM over a 40-year career in aviation.

Published 24th Oct 2026, 11:43 BST

An aviation expert has warned that Doncaster Sheffield Airport is due to reopen at a “particularly tough” time for the airline industry.

The plan to reopen the airport in Finningley took a step closer this week, as South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard revealed he had agreed a deal to buy the land from owner Peel.

Previously, Fly Doncaster, the arms-length council body set up to run DSA, had been due to use the airstrip through a lease agreement, which had a number of controversial clauses.

Mr Coppard’s deal removes significant barriers to the airport reopening, although a timeline for commercial airlines could be delayed.

And aviation expert John Strickland, who hails from Ilkley and worked with several airlines including British Airways, has warned it is a “particularly tough” time for the industry at the moment.

Since Mr Coppard first announced his plans to back Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones’ reopening of the airport last September, fuel prices have gone up significantly because of the Iran war and the industry has been hit by multiple malfunctions with the air traffic control system.

EasyJet recently pulled out of Leeds Bradford Airport, while Eastern Airways, which was based at Humberside, collapsed last year.

“Right now the context of aviation is particularly tough based on geopolitics,” Mr Strickland explained.

“That may have no direct bearing on Doncaster Sheffield Airport, but it’s indicative of the challenges that the industry faces.

“Overall, what these things have done, with the situation in the Middle East, is push fuel prices up incredibly high, so we’re looking at a pretty tough winter.”

Mr Strickland explained the financially strongest airline, Ryanair, were looking to cut flights over the winter.

“They have reduced passenger projections by two million because they don’t want to be flying on market prices of fuel,” he said.

“The challenge that Doncaster Sheffield Airport will face is winning airlines.

“They have been quoted as saying there won’t be any traffic until 2028, even that will be a challenge to deliver.”

Mr Coppard confirmed the airport had been in talks with Wizz Air and Tui, the final two operators when DSA shut in 2022.

It can often take several years for airports to negotiate and agree a deal with airlines, Mr Strickland explained.

“Airlines want to put their aircraft and crews in a market where they can be confident it is going to work and make money, and they would like to do that for the long term.

“Doncaster Sheffield in the past had the challenge of getting airlines in, that pulled out.”

Looking at airlines, he said Ryanair would always be “ultra hard-nosed in negotiations” with airports over landing fees.

EasyJet is expected to be bought in a private equity deal early next year, and Mr Strickland said “it is not possible” to know for certain whether new owner Apollo will stick with the airline’s growth strategy in “difficult times”.

In terms of Wizz Air, one of DSA’s targets, Mr Strickland added “it looks like they are heading for a loss at the end of this financial year and they have cut their growth plan significantly until the end of the decade”.

He warned that Doncaster would face competition from “all directions” with LBA, Manchester and East Midlands.