Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield

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Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield


Doncaster Sheffield Airport

IATA: DSA – ICAO: EGCN
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Doncaster Sheffield Airport Limited/Peel Airports
Serves South Yorkshire
Location Finningley
Elevation AMSL 55 ft / 17 m
Coordinates 53°28′29″N 001°00′16″W / 53.47472, -1.00444
Website www.robinhoodairport.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
02/20 2,893 9,491 Asphalt
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft Movements 12,667
Passengers 1,074,000
Sources:UK AIP
Statistics from the UK CAA.[1]

Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield (IATA: DSA, ICAO: EGCN) is an international airport located at the former RAF Finningley airbase in Finningley, South Yorkshire, England. The airport lies 6 nautical miles southeast of Doncaster and eighteen miles (29 km) east of Sheffield. The Airport principally serves the metropolitan counties of South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.

The airport is operated by Peel Holdings, who also own Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Durham Tees Valley Airport and the former Sheffield City Airport (which closed in April 2008). Handling just under 1.1 million passengers annually, the airport is Yorkshire's second largest airport, after Leeds Bradford Airport (which handles just over 2.8 million passengers annually[2]).[3]

Contents

[edit] History

Main article: RAF Finningley

The airport's opening was marked by the first commercial flight, destined for Palma de Mallorca in Majorca, which departed at 0915 on 28 April 2005. The airport expected to see at least one million passengers during 2006. Three months after opening the airport had handled 300,000 passengers, by December 2005 the figure had risen to 500,000 and within 60 weeks of opening the airport had cumulatively handled over 1 million passengers. The figure for calendar year 2006 was over 899,000, making the airport the 23rd largest in the UK. As of August 2007 the airport had handled 2.28 million passengers since opening.

[edit] Today

Doncaster Sheffield Airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P876) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.

The majority of flights from the airport are operated by Thomsonfly, however flights are also operated by Pegasus Airlines, Air Europa, BH Air, Wizz Air, Flybe, Onur Air and Ryanair.

The first scheduled long-haul flights from the airport began in summer 2007, in the form of a Flyglobespan service to Hamilton (Toronto), Canada, though this route has since been discontinued.

New routes for 2008 include a Flybe service to Jersey, to commence from 30 March 2008 following the announcement from Thomsonfly that they would discontinue the route on 29 March 2008 due to the incompatibility of the Jersey runway with their new fleet. Wizz Air also announced further expansion at the airport with a three-times weekly service to Warsaw beginning on 1 April 2008.

[edit] Statistics

In 2007 over 1 million passengers used the airport, an increase of nearly 14% on the 2006 total of 948,017. The latest statistics show that over 62,000 passengers used the airport in January 2008, a 5.7% increase compared with January 2007.[4]

Number of Passengers[1] Number of Movements[5] Passengers Change YoY
2005 600,907 5,380 -
2006 948,017 7,591 +57.8%
2007 1,078,374 9,292 +13.8%
Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority [1]

[edit] Facilities

The Airport currently has a single runway designated 02/20, with a length of 2,893 metres (9,491 ft) and a width of 60 metres (197 ft), making it longer and wider than those at many other airports in northern Britain. This stems from the airport's history as a former long-range nuclear bomber base (see RAF Finningley), and makes the airport suitable for wide-bodied, long-haul or cargo-carrying aircraft. There is significant room at the airport for further passenger and cargo capacity expansion in the future.

Part of the Airport site is being developed into a Business and Technology Park which could potentially be linked with the M18 motorway via a link road at Junction 3[citation needed].

Due to open sometime in 2008 is a Ramada Encore chain hotel, which will have 150 bed capacity.[6] Work is also progressing on a new 62 acre business park across from the terminal, which will link to the access road into the airport.

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Road and motorway links

The Airport is located close to the M18 Motorway, but has no direct link road. Also nearby are the A1(M) Motorway, M62 motorway and M1 motorway. A direct motorway road link from junction 3 of the M18 to the airport is planned and is expected to open by 2010 [2]. There is also a connection from Junction 34 of the A1(M) Motorway. The Airport has over 2,500 car parking spaces.[7]

[edit] Rail links

Doncaster station is 7 miles from the airport and is served by Northern Rail, NXEC, CrossCountry, TransPennine Express, East Midlands Trains and Hull Trains. Doncaster is 1 Hour 35 Mins from London Kings Cross or 20 Mins from Sheffield station (using direct services). Several direct bus services link Doncaster station with the Airport.

In addition, the airport lies alongside the Doncaster to Lincoln railway line, and plans for a station at Finningley to replace that closed in 1961 have been submitted for local planning permission. Doncaster Council are now considering this with a target opening date of 2011.[8]

[edit] Bus links

There are regular bus services linking the airport with Doncaster, Barnsley, Retford, Worksop and other surrounding areas.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] Scheduled flights

  • Flybe (Belfast-City, Jersey)
  • Ryanair (Alicante, Dublin, Girona)
  • Thomsonfly (Alicante, Faro, Ibiza, Las Palmas, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Salzburg, Tenerife-South)
  • Wizz Air (Katowice, Gdańsk, Poznań, Warsaw, Wrocław)

[edit] Charter flights

[edit] Summer destinations

[edit] Winter destinations

  • Thomsonfly (Alicante, Arrecife, Faro, Geneva, Las Palmas, Málaga, Paphos, Plovdiv, Salzburg, Sharm el-Sheikh, Tenerife-South, Turin)

[edit] Business jets

There are a number of private business jets based at the airport. Owners include golfers Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke who share a jet and the owners of Meadowhall. Currently Sovereign Air are the sole business jet on-demand operator based at the airport.

[edit] Cargo flights

The airport currently handles occasional one off ad hoc freight flights, using aircraft such as the A300, DC10, MD11, Boeing 747 and Antonov 124.

There is space and infrastructure in place from RAF Finningley for further development of cargo services, however as of 2008 the airport does not have a dedicated freight forwarder on site.

[edit] Flight Training

The Airport is home to Sheffield City Flying School and Alpha Helicopters which both moved to Doncaster Sheffield Airport following the closure of the runway at Sheffield City Airport (now Sheffield City Airport & Heliport). Various training courses are available that enable students to study and attain Private Pilots Licence and National Pilots Licence from this location.

[edit] The airport in the media

During its first few years of operation, Robin Hood Airport has featured in the media, in particular numerous articles on its status as the UK's newest international airport have seen it become part of the debate into air tourism and environmental issues. On 24 January 2007, the airport featured in the BBC Two documentary Should I Really Give Up Flying?, with Doncaster celebrity Brian Blessed fronting local opinions on the issue.

Robin Hood Airport has also been a filming location for popular television series' such as ITV's Emmerdale.[9]

Robin Hood Airport is also the joint sponsor, along with Thomsonfly, for ITV News Regional Weather in South Yorkshire.

[edit] The airport name

 This article does not cite any references or sources. (September 2006)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

The name is now often simply referred to on travel websites and on other literature as Doncaster/Sheffield Airport or Doncaster Airport, even though the official name is Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield.

The Airport was named 'Robin Hood' based on the following local information:-

  1. The original Robin Hood legends are set in Barnsdale Forest, the area of South Yorkshire which surrounded Doncaster and Pontefract.
  2. This legend is reinforced by the fact that the village pub in nearby Hatfield Woodhouse has always been known as the Robin Hood and Little John
  3. The Airport has a historical reference to Nottinghamshire (as the parish of Finningley was, until 1974 and the Local Government Act 1972, administered as part of Nottinghamshire) and still resides in the boundary of the Diocese of Nottingham.[10]
  4. The Runway extension (completed in 1957) to accommodate Vulcan bombers, extended the airfield into the county of Nottinghamshire.
  5. Some later Robin Hood legends - and the popular 20th century books, fims and TV programmes are set in Sherwood Forest.[11]
  6. The Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster is closer to what is left of Sherwood Forest than the City of Nottingham is.[12]
  7. The forests of Sherwood and Barnsdale merged in this area of Yorkshire.[13]
  8. The name would provide an identity which would raise a lot of attention (if a little controversy) for the Airport and create a marketing opportunity.[14]
  9. The Airport name has caused media controversy as Robin Hood has not during the 20th century been regularly associated with Doncaster; despite the Barnsdale legends, and the references to Robin Hood in pubnames such as the aforementioned Robin Hood and Little John. Many citizens of Nottingham feel that Robin Hood should be the icon of their City alone (despite the fact that it was the Sheriff that came from Nottingham).

Names that were then suggested by people of the borough and surrounding areas included:

  • Doncaster International Airport
  • South Yorkshire International Airport
  • Finningley International Airport

Visitors may refer to the airport as 'Robin Hood' Airport; longstanding local residents may refer to the airport as'Finningley'; otherwise the Airport is referred to as Doncaster Airport.

In terms of aviation communication, the airport is known as Doncaster (Doncaster Radar, Doncaster Tower etc.)

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Movements, Passengers
  2. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leeds_Bradford_International_Airport#Statistics
  3. ^ Uk top 20 airports
  4. ^ Passenger numbers up 5.7% at Airport
  5. ^ Number of Movements represents total air transport takeoffs and landings during that year.
  6. ^ Ramada Encore Hotel Lands At Airport Business Park
  7. ^ Robin Hood Airport Car Parking
  8. ^ Doncaster Council draft Access Strategy report, 13 December 2006
  9. ^ Robin Hood Airport Press Office
  10. ^ Table of parishes and other places in Nottinghamshire, up to 1842
  11. ^ Robin Hood in popular culture
  12. ^ Sherwood Forest County Park map
  13. ^ - Reference to Barnsdale Forest with Map also showing Merger of Forests in this area
  14. ^ - Evidence of Controversy caused by Airport Name and Marketing opportunity

[edit] External links

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