Cargo flights planned to take off from Doncaster Sheffield airport in 'late 2026' papers show
It was initially thought flights could return this summer
Cargo flights are now projected to return to Doncaster Sheffield Airport in “late 2026”, according to new documents.
The estimate represents a push-back from the Summer 2026 projection offered by Mayor Ros Jones in December 2025 and appears in documents published by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
It comes from papers the City of Doncaster Council provided to key stakeholders for feedback on the authority’s proposal to reinstate the controlled airspace previously used at Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA).
The City of Doncaster Council did not respond when approached for a comment.
Projections for the return of flights to DSA have repeatedly been pushed back over the last few years.
In late 2024, Mayor Jones promised passenger flights would return by Spring 2026. Shortly before the 2025 elections for Mayor of Doncaster, the projection said the airport would “reopen” in Spring 2026.
Before the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) met in September 2025 to approve funding for the airport reopening, Mayor Jones said freight flights would return to DSA in Spring 2026.
This was pushed back again in December 2025 when, during an interview with the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Jones said freight would not return until Summer 2026.
Projections for the return of passenger flights in Winter 2027/28 remain unchanged, although the South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard continues to suggest it will be firmly in 2028.
At the unveiling of the ‘South Yorkshire People’s Network’ on March 16, 2026, Mayor Coppard announced that the SYMCA would be looking to develop plans for a rail and tram connection to DSA.
There was no firm date in the “transport vision” for this, despite a timeline extending into the 2040s, however, the Mayor said he hoped to get it done “as soon as we can”.