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Doncaster Sheffield Airport

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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 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) southeast of Doncaster and eighteen miles from Sheffield. The Airport principally serves the metropolitan conurbations of South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire moreover due to its key location, a population of more than six million potential customers can access the airport within a 60 minute drive.

The opening was marked by the first commercial flight from the airport, destined for Palma in Majorca, which departed exactly on time at 0915 on April 28, 2005. The Captain of the first flight from Robin Hood Airport was Paul Rafferty of ThomsonflyTemplate:Fn. The airport is 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 rose to 500,000 and within the first year had risen to 900,000 passengers. 60 weeks after opening, the airport had handled over 1 million passengers.

The majority of flights from the airport are operated by Thomsonfly, with a few flights operated by Thomas Cook, Pegasus, Air Europa, BH Air, Wizzair, Flybe, Flyglobespan and Ryanair. On 28th March 2006 Ryanair announced an expansion of their services from Doncaster, with additional flights to Pisa and Girona. On 26th June 2006, Flybe announced it was establishing a twice daily service from Doncaster to Belfast City Airport from October 2006.

History

Main article: RAF Finningley

Facilities

The airport's runway has a length of 2,891 metres (9,485 feet) and a width of 60 metres (197 feet), making it longer and wider than those at many other airports in northern Britain, including Leeds/Bradford Airport and Humberside Airport, its closest competitors. This capability may make the airport attractive to operators of wide-bodied, long-haul or older cargo-carrying aircraft. The reason the Airport has such a long runway stems from its history as a former long-range nuclear bomber base (see RAF Finningley). The Airport currently has a single runway designated 02/20 however there is significant room for further expansion should the market require. Operators Peel Holdings also own Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Durham Tees Valley Airport.

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. This in itself might attract further investment into the Region.

Due to open in late summer 2007 is a Ramada Encore chain hotel, which will have 150 bed capacity.

Getting to Robin Hood Airport

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

  • Map sources for Robin Hood Airport, located at 53°28′29″N 1°0′16″W / 53.47472°N 1.00444°W / 53.47472; -1.00444

Doncaster station is a major UK Railway Station and is served by Northern Rail, Virgin Trains, GNER, First TransPennine Express, Central Trains, Midland Mainline and Hull Trains. Doncaster is 1 Hour 35 Mins from London Kings Cross or 20 Mins from Sheffield Station (using direct services). From Doncaster Station several direct bus services transport passengers to the Airport.

In addition, the airport lies alongside the Doncaster to Lincoln railway line, and plans for a station have been submitted for local planning permission.

Public transport is by hourly bus from Doncaster town centre. At present the airport is served by a various airport bus links from all major local bus companies. These include:

Airlines and destinations

Scheduled Services

  • Flybe (Belfast [Starts October 30])
  • Flyglobespan (Toronto [Starts May 2007])
  • Ryanair (Dublin, Girona [Starts October 31], Pisa [Starts September 14])
  • Thomsonfly (Alicante, Amsterdam, Faro, Jersey, Málaga, Palma, Paris-Orly, Prague)
  • Wizzair (Katowice [Starts September 19])

Charter Flights

  • Air Europa (Palma)
  • BH Air (Bourgas)
  • Thomsonfly (Bodrum, Bourgas, Cancun, Corfu, Dalaman, Orlando Florida-Sanford, Girona, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Larnaca, Malta, Menorca, Monastir, Naples, Paphos, Pisa, Plovdiv, Puerto Plata, Reus, Rhodes, Salzburg, Sharm El Sheikh, Tenerife-South, Verona, Zakynthos)
  • Thomas Cook (Dalaman, Gran Canaria, Monastir, Palma, Tenerife)


The airport has an email address where new routes can be suggested or requested. This can be found here.

The Airport name

The name was and still is unwelcome by a large number of people and is now often simply referred to on travel websites and on other literature as Doncaster 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. Some later Robin Hood legends - and the popular 20th century books, fims and TV programmes are set in Sherwood Forest.
  4. Doncaster is closer to what is left of Sherwood Forest than Nottingham is.
  5. The forests of Sherwood and Barnsdale merged in this area of Yorkshire.
  6. 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.

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). Ironically the naming of Robin Hood Airport came shortly after East Midlands Airport was controversially re-branded [1] as Nottingham East Midlands Airport during 2004 to address uncertainties revealed amongst travellers based abroad as to where the East Midlands were.

Notes

References


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