KenH Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 Is the word "Sheffield" in Doncaster-Sheffield Airport invisible then? Do Bradfordians have the same issue with Leeds-Bradford airport? Fact remains is that the runway at Tinsley cannot be made long enough to accomodate the size of passenger jets that would make the airport viable. Since RAF Finningley up the road was decommissioned and required far less work to get it operational as a civil airport it made sense to develop that as a regional airport. Personally I'm happy with flight paths over Donny rather than Sheffield. That would have been one of the things to bear if we had an airport in the city boundary. The airport is already viable, you have missed the point. Just because it doesn't take a 737 doesn't mean it doesn't serve a purpose or make money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenH Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 I have just had chance to look at the planning application again and I am somewhat shocked. I was rather surprised that this announcement came out of the blue after the event, but I am shocked at what I have just discovered. Apparently this major decision wasn't deemed important enough to be decided by the council, where we could all have all have turned up and watched democracy in action. Instead it was quietly dealt with in a committee meeting with little or no advance publicity along with Mrs Smiths new extension or solar panels for number 19. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wadsleyite Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 Fact remains is that the runway at Tinsley cannot be made long enough to accomodate the size of passenger jets that would make the airport viable. As KenH correctly wrote, the airport is viable - or rather, it was. In its planned rôle (that is, as an airport designed primarily for business people, with "feeder" flights to a major hub) it failed due to factors that had little to do with the length of the runway. KLM led the way with their thrice-daily service to Amsterdam (which I used regularly, changing at user-friendly Schiphol for medium- and longhaul destinations, instead of having a long journey to Heathrow/Gatwick etc. and then suffering the hassle of a large, overstretched airport). But KLM had to cancel the service, not because the planes were too small for the route to be viable, or because the service was under-used (70% average seat occupancy in its first year was almost unheard of for a newly established route). It was because of other factors which had more to do with general restructuring in the civil aviation industry. For example, in a highly competitive business it couldn't have escaped the notice of KLM bosses that they could land a 747 in the same precious landing slot at Schiphol as the "feeder" flight from Sheffield. British Airways, to their credit, also tried out their services to Belfast and Dublin, as did the late lamented SABENA to Brussels. But it was a difficult time in the industry - 20 years earlier the outcome might have been very different. Certainly, without a longer runway, Sheffield could never hope to be a major holiday airport, or one used by cut-price airlines (you need to land 737's at least for this) but this was never the intention, despite the summer-Saturday flights to Jersey. If only landing slots had been available, for example, at Heathrow or Gatwick, Sheffield could have been a successful airport in its planned rôle as a gateway to "feeder" flights, and it was certainly much more convenient for local business travellers than to have to drive on traffic-clogged motorways or over the Pennines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj4321 Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 Correction to my correction! Sheffield is the UK's 5th. largest city. Sources: http://www.mongabay.com/igapo/UK.htm http://www.citymayors.com/gratis/uk_topcities.html Sheffield is bigger than Leeds. If you are saying that Chapletown and Beighton is not in Sheffield than that is a lie. We have a bigger suburb than Leeds and Leeds have a bigger city centre. Still going back to the airport issue. It is a disgrace that we do not have an airport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banjo Griner Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 It is a disgrace that we do not have an airport. Or a decent road system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj4321 Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 Or a decent road system. So True:thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wadsleyite Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 Whether or not Sheffield is bigger then Leeds doesn't matter. We need an airport, and we are losing the one we had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgksheff Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 ...... and we are losing the one we had. "Lost" is the word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wadsleyite Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 "Lost" is the word. Yes - I suppose it is. If only the people we elect to run local affairs had shown more interest we might still have had an airport. The runway hasn't yet been dug up. Or has it....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpetviper Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 Well does that mean us lot from sheffield recycle our flights another airport would add more traffic and more pollution I would rather travel one hour twice a year than more traffic and pollution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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