Doncaster Mayor accuses opponents of spinning ‘political narrative’ around airport reopening
It comes amid questions over the timeline for reopening of the travel hub
The Mayor of Doncaster batted away questions over inconsistent timelines regarding approval for Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA)’s airspace as fitting a “political narrative” during a full council meeting last week.
Mayor Ros Jones was pressed on the accuracy of her previously announced projection for the return of freight operations by Conservative councillor, Jane Cox.
Cllr Cox asked the Mayor why her projection at the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority meeting on September 9, 2025, for freight operations to begin in Summer 2026, did not reflect a timeline given by Doncaster Council to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) six days prior.
The timeline given to the CAA set out for a decision on airspace to be made in the last quarter of 2026, after when the Mayor suggested freight operations would return.
Responding to Cllr Cox, Mayor Jones said: “I must however highlight that your statement is largely a misrepresentation as if in an attempt to support your own political narrative rather than presenting a fair and accurate reflection of reality.”
Mayor Jones said she had always maintained there were “interdependencies” out of the council’s control, such as CAA approval. She also stated that DSA “can commence freight activity before full CAA approval, subject to Air Traffic Control, Radar and Fire safety being in place alongside the necessary support services”.
However, the Mayor failed to mention that council officials believe the CAA would only allow up to two operators to conduct freight activity in and out of DSA without airspace certification.
“Reopening an airport is not easy, and there will of course be challenges to overcome over the months and years ahead, that is why we are building the team and expertise in order to fully reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport as quickly and safely as possible,” the Mayor said.
The Mayor’s answer caused confusion in the chamber, as Cllr Cox pointed out the full answer Mayor Jones gave was considerably longer than the one provided ahead of the meeting – as questions are submitted and responded to in advance, to allow councillors to ask supplementary questions in response to the first answer.
However, Cllr Cox did say to the chamber: “I’m unsure how the published facts ‘support my political narrative’, or actually my grip of reality. I have always supported the reopening of the airport but not at any cost to the taxpayer.
“The Mayor has consistently fed misinformation to the residents of Doncaster on the timescales in order to be elected to her position.”
Mayor Jones was also pressed by her own councillors regarding Doncaster Sheffield Airport, with Rossington and Bawtry councillor, Lee Sammutt, asking the Mayor to provide his residents with reassurance and understand their concerns about night flights overhead would be formally considered.
The Mayor said she “fully understands and appreciates the concerns” of residents in areas around DSA in relation to night flights.
“I take the needs of our residents extremely seriously, and recognise the balance of over 130,000 individuals signing a petition in support of DSA, and the counterbalance of residents having concerns around regular night flights,” Mayor Jones responded.
“The Airport Consultative Committee has been established to act as a conduit for residents to feed any particular issues or concerns they have in relation to airport operations… ward councillors from Rossington and Bawtry and from Finningley ward are important stakeholders and have been invited to the meeting,” she added.
The Airport Consultative Committee met for the first time on January 26, 2026.
Doncaster Council confirmed the membership included city councillors, Fly Doncaster Ltd, Lincolnshire County Council and representatives from the Save DSA campaign.
There are also representatives from nearby parish councils, including Auckley and Blaxton, but, despite Cllr Sammutt’s concerns, Bawtry Town Council has not yet been added to the committee’s membership.