Why can't we have a proper airport in Sheffield?

[iansheff 88]

Easyjet replied to my request, saying that they could not use Sheffield airport because it wasn't big enough for their jets. I don't know which jets they were using at the time; and, of course, they may have been wrong. (I was hoping for really easy visits to Rotherham from Luton...)

 

I know KLM were using the airport but I don't recall how large the jets were.

 

Easy Jet use Boeing 737s, I think KLM were using turbo props, I remember watching one take off.

[Steve51 10]

I'd rather Sheffield had a proper High Speed Train service, with services to London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, etc... And Doncaster had a proper road link from the M18 to the airport.

 

That way, we get the addition of a decent rail service and a quick route to Doncaster Airport, avoiding Doncaster, without the hassle, noise and sir pollution of having an airport too close to the city.

 

K.

 

Spot on.. a direct train service direct from Sheffield train station which stops next to or under Robin Hood airport just like Schipol..as well as the road link ..

[alchresearch 214]

I was reading an article yesterday that stated air traffic control for Finningley is handled by the control tower of Liverpool Airport.

 

Surely this can't be right - or does it mean air traffic, and the Finningley tower just directs ground operations?

[zippy 10]

Aren't a lot of the bigger regional airports old WW2 airstrips? I think thats the case with Doncaster & Liverpool, not sure about East Midlands & Leeds. But it costs a lot of cash to build an airport from scratch thats big enough to take anything other than small planes.

 

Doncaster, Leeds-Bradford, Humberside, Durham tees valley and East Midlands were all existing RAF stations before becoming civil airports, Manchester wasn't an RAF station originally although it was used by the military during ww2 ...

 

also worthwhile to point out that humberside airport is also busy suppprting north sea oil and gas as well as being a more conventional passenger airport

Edited May 9, 2012 by zippy

[BSMan 10]

The last airport was doomed to failure as soon as the company that owned realised that finningley was available for purchase. Finningley didn't need the runways extending, which catcliffe locals objected to. Due to the length of the runways they couldn't attract the budget airlines.

 

The company that bought Sheffield City Airport already owned Finningley and had been planning on developing an airport there for a long time prior to aquiring Sheffield City. Sheffield Council knew this when they sold Sheffield Airport to them in 2002. It was doomed to failure from then on, with the company even selling vital navigation aids to Tollerton airfield therefore not even having the necessary infrastructure to handle commercial flights. Budget airlines have hardly carved out a success for themselves at Robin Hood Airport. Easyjet have been and gone twice, both times passenger numbers were insufficient. Ryanair have not really committed, even opening a large base at East Midlands since Robin Hood Airport opened.

 

Robin Hood Airport may have the capacity to fly people out on their yearly holidays in the Costa's, but offers nothing to the business passenger and therefore the economy. The single KLM link from Sheffield City Airport provided genuine global connections on the city's doorstep. I ask you then, which is more important to the local economy; three daily flights to Amsterdam Schipol with seamless connections, or a few weekly flights to Malaga?

 

I know KLM were using the airport but I don't recall how large the jets were.

 

Fokker 50 aircraft, but the runway specifications meant the Fokker 70 jet which the airline now uses on flights to other regional airports could also have been used unrestricted.

 

The runway at Robin Hood Airport is exactly the same length as the one at East Midlands Airport, but also has more restrictions than East Midlands in terms of useable runway length.

Edited June 1, 2012 by BSMan

[ChrisT70 10]

a direct road straight to robin gits airport would help off the M18 etc, its not exactly easy for people who dont know the area.

[muddycoffee 10]

a direct road straight to robin gits airport would help off the M18 etc, its not exactly easy for people who dont know the area.

 

Well they are actually building it now. I expect that when it is open in about 2 or 3 years it will be possible to drive from park square roundabout in sheffield to the airport in 23 minutes.

This will make the airport closer in time than the london airports to most of london..

[Hotmale 1954 201]

Firstly we had one and it failed on its behind. Do we really want to go through all that again.

Secondly, we are surrounded by hills with peak district on two sides of the city. It makes it a little difficult to build a huge airport terminal, parking, ramps, stands, taxiways and runways. You need masses of open, empty flat land.

 

A fair proportion of Manchester and Heathrow Airports are below ground level.

Where something gets in the way of a runway (or a new runway) it is demolished, or a 'bridge' is built over it. Take a decent drive around Manchester Airport and see the 1/4 mile tunnels you encounter. The airport (usually the runway) is built on the top of these tunnels. As I remember, the Parkway is around 6 miles long and relatively flat. We could easily put the runway over the top of the Parkway, either directly above it, or at a diagonal angle across it.

If they had built a proper runway in the first place, I reckon Sheffield Airport would have succeeded. Only being able to land 100 seater planes from the outset, was a massive mistake. The money should have been found to extend the runway for proper planes to land.

Donny Airport, on some of the days I've seen it on Teletext, has sometimes only 4 or 5 (passenger) planes a day landing or taking off.

I've been assured by an employee of DSA that the Airport is safe, but I wouldn't be so sure.

[Guest busdriver1]

As I remember, the Parkway is around 6 miles long and relatively flat. We could easily put the runway over the top of the Parkway, either directly above it, or at a diagonal angle across it.

 

Where is the flat bit on the Parkway? One stretch about 1/4 mile is the best I have found.

The whole point here is that if a major airport had been built here who would use it? Most people flying long distance travel from the nearby East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, or Manchester. The transport links to these Airports are perfectly adequate and are established. The current state of Finningley aerodrome shows the level of demand in the region. We can get to London in just over 2 hours by train and that takes you right into the centre of London, so flights there would be slower than trains taking into account check in and getting to and from airports. International flights are well catered for by other airports. This is a simple case of keeping up with the joneses. If we needed one, maket forces would have provided one.

[GrapeApe 10]

I know. Have to drive/bus it/donny is rubbish.

 

We are one of the BIGGEST City's in the UK. And we don't even have a airport.

 

Opines?

 

Big villages don't need airports

[lobster 54]

speaking as someone who was asked for my input by the commitee responsible for sheffield airport ( i was working for a european group at the time so flew all over europe ) . the attitude was we just have to build an airport and people will use it . they had no concept that for the business customer it was availability and convienence of flights was the main issue . i used to fly to paris regularily, in a two hour window between 7.30 to 9.30 there were 5 flights paris manchester there was 1 to east mids . no prizes for guessing where i flew from

doncaster is a joke, its run on a shoe string ,most of the staff are yts and takes longer to get to than manchester

doncaster

[Cyclone 10]

Where is the flat bit on the Parkway? One stretch about 1/4 mile is the best I have found.

The whole point here is that if a major airport had been built here who would use it? Most people flying long distance travel from the nearby East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, or Manchester. The transport links to these Airports are perfectly adequate and are established. The current state of Finningley aerodrome shows the level of demand in the region. We can get to London in just over 2 hours by train and that takes you right into the centre of London, so flights there would be slower than trains taking into account check in and getting to and from airports. International flights are well catered for by other airports. This is a simple case of keeping up with the joneses. If we needed one, maket forces would have provided one.

 

They use those airports because that's where the flights are. If I want to fly to Geneva I don't get much choice of where I go from. If there was a choice I'd use Doncaster, it's marginally quicker to get to than any of the alternatives (and would be much quicker if it had a motorway link).