Yorkshire airport sees passenger numbers increase

7th May 2014

Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield is continuing to see an increase in passenger numbers.

More than 695,000 people used the Yorkshire airport during the 12 months up to the end of March 2014 an increase of 2.4 per cent from the previous year. The figures coincide with Doncaster Sheffield Airport announcing new routes to Belfast, Isle of Man, Riga and Bucharest for summer 2014, along with routes to Antalya and Zante recently announced for summer 2015. The four new routes for 2014, combined with capacity increases on existing routes, will add more than 110,000 new seats from Doncaster Sheffield Airport in the year ahead. UK regional airline LinksAir has recently launched new flights to Belfast City and Yorkshire's only service to the Isle of Man. Meanwhile, Wizz Air has added routes to Riga and Bucharest and has firmly established Doncaster Sheffield as its second largest UK base. In total, Wizz Air operates 22 flights per week to eight destinations including Vilnius in Lithuania and Gdansk, Warsaw, Katowice, Poznan and Wroclaw in Poland. Thomson and First Choice will also increase the number of destinations they serve from Doncaster Sheffield Airport to 20 with the announcement of weekly flights to Antalya and Zante starting next year. In total Doncaster Sheffield Airport offers flights to more than 30 destinations around the world. Steve Gill, managing director of Doncaster Sheffield Airport, said: -We are pleased to see passenger numbers continue to grow. A lot of hard work has gone into developing key relationships with airlines, both new and current, to maximise the potential of this fantastic airport. -It is encouraging to see this activity starting to take fruition and with operators such as Thomson, Wizz Air and now LinksAir giving their support, it is recognition of the ambition being shown at Doncaster Sheffield Airport. -As we continue to discuss with airlines the opportunity to better serve the Sheffield City Region and the enhanced access the new FARRRS link road from the M18 will bring, we hope to see more destinations and seat capacity being added in the future. We look forward to seeing strong growth in the 12 months ahead. The increase in passenger numbers follows a 23 per cent improvement in the amount of cargo being transported to and from Doncaster Sheffield Airport. The figures demonstrated a second successive year of growth in cargo between April 2013 and March 2014. For more information about Doncaster Sheffield Airport visit www.robinhoodairport.com.