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Congratulations! April 28, 2005 marked of the most significant events in UK travel and transport for many years – the opening of the new £80 million Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield – the first full service airport to open in the UK in over 50 years. . SH&E is pleased to be part of aviation history in the UK and wishes Peel Airports and Robin Hood Airport the very best of luck. We have every confidence it will be an outstanding success.
SH&E’s Role in the Development of Robin Hood Airport Since 1998, SH&E Limited has played a key role in the development of this exciting venture, advising the owners, Peel Airports, Plc., and providing support throughout the bureaucratic process. SH&E was one of a small core of firms involved in the initial presentations to the Ministry of Defence and Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions with the aim of bringing the advantages of Robin Hood Airport’s long runway to the travelling population of South Yorkshire. Since these early days of making this airport a reality, SH&E has provided regular and consistent assistance as the project evolved from the drawing board to the earthmover. SH&E’s forecasts of passenger traffic, cargo, air transport movements, general aviation, and air transport movements formed the core of the planning application that was submitted in support of the development. In the subsequent public planning inquiry SH&E acted on behalf of Peel, with Ian Lowden, a senior SH&E officer, acting as a key expert witness providing evidence of the need for the airport. After planning permission was granted, SH&E continued to provide support to Peel Airports, Plc. with cost-benefit analyses and continuous refinements of the original forecasts to assist in the fine-tuning of the development. Fortunately, SH&E’s catchment allocation models have been sufficiently rigorous to evolve over time. Overview of Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield Located seven miles south of Doncaster and 22 miles from Sheffield on the site of the former RAF Finningley, the airport heralds a £29 million annual boost for South Yorkshire’s economy, opening up all manner of travel opportunities for people from a large part of the UK. Owners Peel Airports Limited predict that within five years the airport will be catering for 2.3 million passengers and 50,000 tonnes of freight. A total of 611 jobs have been created already and it is estimated that this will rise to 7,000 jobs over the next five to ten years. Robin Hood Airport has the capacity to rival many of Britain’s larger airports and is the only airport outside London with a runway potentially able to accommodate the new A380 Airbus. Two key low cost operators, Thomsonfly.com and Ryanair will be operating flights to a wide variety of European destinations from the airport, the first of which – Thomsonfly.com’s 9.15am to Palma – will take off on 28 April 2005. There are another half a dozen tour operators widening the travel opportunities from the airport which will offer flights to 27 destinations in 16 countries shortly after opening. It is anticipated that flights to North America, the Far East and other long-haul destinations could be added from 2006. Thomsonfly.com alone predicts it will carry 730,000 passengers through the airport in their first year of operation, which could be an underestimate given the rush to buy seats to date – the airline sold more than 7,500 seats on the day they were released. Aside from the very exciting international travel opportunities the Airport presents to the six million people who live within one hour’s drive time in its core catchment area (South Yorkshire, North Nottinghamshire and North Lincolnshire) and beyond, Robin Hood Airport is already bringing much-needed regeneration to the region in terms of job creation and encouraging inward investment and particular emphasis is being placed upon inbound tourism opportunities for the wider region. The 800-acre airport business park already supports around 100 companies, ranging from car maintenance to IT businesses, with a further 60 acre site planned which could house distribution centres and more hangar space. Directions Finningley’, the unique recruitment, training, career development and business support service is also based at the Airport site. This collaborative partnership of local providers including Jobcentre Plus, Lifetime Careers, Doncaster College and North Nottinghamshire College and Peel Airports Limited continues to be actively involved in recruiting staff across all disciplines for the airport and its partners, with a focus on recruiting from the local area. Directions Finningley is also developing a National Centre for Aviation Excellence over the next twelve months. The Aviation Academy will be based in one of the airport’s five existing hangars and is expected to become the largest and most advanced aviation training facility in the UK. The major opportunity for local businesses and the regional tourism bodies will be the inbound visitors the airport will generate. David Ryall, Managing Director, Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield says: “As the Airport opens an international gateway into the region will have been established. This gateway presents all kind of exciting possibilities locally and for the wider region which must capitalise on potential worldwide trading routes and be capable of supporting the international business and leisure travellers visiting from overseas.” The Airport Management Team continue to work closely with regional development
agencies, local chambers of commerce and other business groups, tourist
boards, academic, arts and culture organisations and others to help local
people and companies capitalise on the many and varied opportunities presented
by the Airport.
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