Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Why hellish Snake Pass journey makes case for a SY airport

It was 3am and the state of the road was appalling - land-slip, road works and dead sheep made the journey hazardous.

Apparently Snake Pass is one of the 10 most dangerous roads in the world and between 2014-2018 there were 137 accidents.

Sheffield to Manchester Airport takes around 1 hour and 30 minutes (longer at peak times) by car even though it is only 43 miles. Whilst travel by train is possible, the direct link from Sheffield has been cut and it is necessary to change at Piccadilly.

In 2019, over 400,000 traveled by train to Manchester Airport from Sheffield and at least the same number went by car, so there were close to one million journeys from Sheffield alone.

The case for reopening Doncaster Sheffield Airport is overwhelming.

Internationally, no major, successful region does not have an airport.

The airport is crucial to the South Yorkshire economy. It provided businesses with access to global markets, attracted and retained businesses and provided jobs and economic prosperity for the area.

Most people in South Yorkshire are 30 minutes drive from the airport. Environmentally, air travel will reduce its carbon footprint over the next 10-20 years with the use of hydrogen engines developed in South Yorkshire.

The current Government has done the opposite of leveling up. It has failed to invest in the north and has actually cut investment in infrastructure, including HS2, rail electrification and the. Glossop bypass.

So what is the vision for the future and what should a Labour government do?

Firstly it should ensure the East Coast mainline is extended to the airport for passengers and freight.

European aviation specialists have recently argued that Doncaster Sheffield Airport has the potential for five million passengers by 2035 and that cargo freight could amount to 70,000 tonnes.

That is why the South Yorkshire Mayor, Oliver Coppard, has made the reopening of the airport a central plank of the regional economic growth strategy.

• Talks are still ongoing between Doncaster Council and airport owners Peel over the future of the airport, which closed last year.