“My, Haven’t You Flown” as Doncaster Sheffield Airport celebrates Sweet Sixteenth Anniversary

28th April 2021

Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) is celebrating its ‘sweet sixteenth’ anniversary today (28th April), & despite a second consecutive ‘lockdown birthday’, is excited to mark the occasion by celebrating an impressive milestone of 14 million passengers having enjoyed its Easy, Friendly, Relaxed service since 2005.

Although the fifteenth anniversary year has been like no other, spirits refuse to be dampened at the UK’s favourite airport. The team are preparing to welcome customers, ready for a holiday, confident of a swift restart & positive recovery.

No stranger to adversity, the plucky airport has always punched above its weight & has achieved a lot in its short sixteen years.  With the same approach & level of dogged determination in the future, no doubt there is more to come.

With a sense of romance & spirit of adventure associated with air travel, as the check-in desk shape up & the sanitiser stations refill in readiness of a much-anticipated summer start, the team is reaching out to its followers & fans, asking them to share their favourite DSA memories.

Chris Harcombe joined DSA in 2006 & has witnessed most of the major milestones, growth & occasional setbacks of the last 16 years.  He became Managing Director in January this year, and, as the nation anticipates the return to international travel, he remains confident for the future.

“We’re immensely proud of our track record & what we have achieved in a relatively short space of time. Perhaps it’s Yorkshire grit but we keep on proving naysayer’s wrong!  We’ve created a successful, regional airport in the North of England, the first in over 50 years, thanks in no small part to an incredibly hard-working & dedicated team of people & our loyal customers.

“We worked with our partners & stakeholders to open a link road to significantly cut journey times for our passengers, we stayed operational in the face of a global pandemic & we have delivered  major growth & additional choice for our customers during this time.  With this continued determination, I’m certain we will retain our spot as one of the fastest growing airports in the UK & of course continue to drive forward our ambitions for the Gateway East Rail scheme.

“There is no denying it has been a very difficult year for the aviation industry.  However, we are looking forward to welcoming back passengers.  We have robust & vigorous covid protocols in place for the health & safety of our customers & our team.  Our operators have done all they can to offer flexible terms for customers so they can book with confidence & we look forward to celebrating anniversaries & milestones for many more years to come.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DSA!

L& & Property developers Peel Group acquisition recognised the need for an airport in the North of Engl& East of the Pennines & won a competitive bid process to take over & develop what had been the site of RAF Finningley.  An investment of £150m, enabled the construction of a brand-new terminal building for the first new UK airport for 50 years.

The first commercial flight took off from Doncaster Sheffield Airport to Majorca at 09:15 hrs on 28th April 2005.  Over 14 million passengers have since travelled through the UK’s favourite airport.

Working in partnership with Doncaster Council & Sheffield City Region the Great Yorkshire Way opened in 2018, linking DSA directly with the M18.  This was a game changer for the airport significantly expanding its reach & reducing journey times for more travellers.

In May 2019, pupils from local primary schools Hayfield & St Alban’s, took part in the switching on of the new sign at the front of the terminal building, officially changing the name from Robin Hood to Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

In the same year, DSA achieved the hattrick of being named as the UK’s best small airport by Which? Magazine & the UK’s favourite regional airport by Saga members in 2018, based on its unrivalled customer experience.

DSA has maintained a long & successful relationship with main operators TUI & Wizz Air.  Going from strength to strength, TUI, the world’s leading tourism business, has continued to grow the list of popular holiday destinations & number of aircraft based at DSA since aircraft first took off in 2005.

In 2020, Wizz Air grew its presence adding more low-cost routes for customers & two A320 aircraft as it announced DSA as its second UK base.  The airport now services almost 50 destinations across the globe including long-haul destinations such as Sandford, Florida.

This year’s birthday will be somewhat different at DSA with Freight traffic currently the cornerstone of business as DSA plays a vital role in the Covid Pandemic.

As the UK eagerly anticipates the green light for international travel & a well-deserved holiday in the sun, DSA is readying for getting passengers back in the air, & the easy, friendly, relaxed service enhanced by recent improvements to the passenger terminal.

Article Provided by Doncaster Sheffield Airport

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