Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Big turnout at rally against closure sends message 'loud and clear' to owners

Around 200 people gathered for the demonstration in Market Place, Doncaster, on Saturday, August 13, with South Yorkhire Mayor Oliver Coppard, Doncaster Central MP Dame Rosie Winterton and Hazel Nolan from the GMB trade union among those addressing the crowds.

The airport’s owner Peel made the shock announcement in July, just weeks after Wizz Air announced it was cancelling its flights there, that that it could close permanently if a strategic review concluded it was no longer commercially viable.

The news has prompted a huge backlash, with the GMB saying 165,000 have now backed the campaign to keep it open and protect the 800 jobs the union says it directly supports and the £55 million it contributes each year to the local economy.

The GMB has called on the national government, local councils and Mr Coppard to consider all options to keep flights running, including taking the airport into public ownership.

Labour councillor Majid Khan, who represents Bessacarr ward, said at least 200 people attended Saturday’s rally, which demonstrated the strength of feeling among the public.

“The message sent by the people of Doncaster and the wider area to Peel today is loud and clear: closing the airport won’t be tolerated,” he said.

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“We had people from across the region coming out in support, which shows how vital the airport is and how neither the residents, nore the politicians will take this lying down.

“I understand (Transport Secretary) Grant Shapps has been invited to a meeting and hasn’t attended. If this was an airport in London or the south east, the Government would be all over this but up here we’re left to fight it by ourselves.

“Over the last few months, we’re having more and more flights being diverted from Heathrow to Doncaster Sheffield Airport. If there’s not the capacity at airports like Heathrow, that shows how Doncaster Sheffield Airport is needed. What’s happening is mind-boggling, really.”

The rally took place on the same day Don Valley MP Nick Fletcher, who has been working with other MPs, councillors and Mr Coppard to fight the closure, revealed Peel’s executive chairman John Whittaker had agreed to meet him in September.