RAF Finningley now Robin Hood Airport

[White Cap]

Source:- http://www.robinhoodairport.com

History of the airport

Robin Hood Airport, the UK’s newest purpose built international Airport, is built on the site of the former RAF Finningley airbase, world famous for its military air displays.

The scheme to convert RAF Finningley into a commercial airport attracted a massive amount of support from local residents, the business community and particularly the wider aviation industry, who appreciated that there was a gap in the provision of aviation services within the Yorkshire, Humber & surrounding regions.

RAF Finningley opened in 1936 and is best known as the front line Bomber Command base during World War II and the Cold War. The base also provided an air crew training centre of excellence for pilots and navigators.

The airport runway is just under 2 miles (2891 metres) long and was resurfaced in 1989 before the Ministry of Defence declared the site surplus to requirement in March 1995.

The station flag was finally lowered in April 1996 and many feared that this would be the end of this famous airbase. However, in June 1999 Peel Holdings purchased the site with the view to turning it into a commercial airport serving 2.3m passengers and 62,000 tonnes of freight.

Because of the excellent quality of the infrastructure already in place – the airport has one of the longest runways in the north of England – Robin Hood Airport has the capacity to handle charter, scheduled, long-haul, freight, general and business aviation internationally.

The development of Robin Hood Airport will ensure that the spirit and history of RAF Finningley lives on long into the future.

Sad to see another RAF base close , but I'm happy it's going to become an Airport .

Cheers,
White Cap

[White Cap]

Ex-RAF base takes off as civil airport
By Paul Stokes
(Filed: 29/04/2005)

Britain's first big airport in almost 40 years opened yesterday with its debut commercial flight from a former Royal Air Force Bomber Command base.

The payload on this occasion was 149 holidaymakers destined for Palma, Majorca, on a Boeing 737-300 jet.

Robin Hood Airport has been converted from the former RAF Finningley airbase, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, at a cost of £80 million.

The site dates from 1938 and was used by RAF Vulcan bombers during the Cold War. It has a runway almost two miles long, making it the country's only airport outside London with the capacity to take the new A380 Airbus, which made its maiden flight this week.

The first full international airport since Stansted was approved in 1966, Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield was developed by Peel Airports that already operates Liverpool John Lennon, Durham Tees Valley and Sheffield City airports.

The new airport is expected to attract 1.3 million passengers in its first year, rising to 2.3 million within five years, travelling to 33 destinations in 20 countries.

It is within one hour's drive of five million people and will plough about £29 million a year into the local economy, its owners claim. It has already created 611 jobs which could rise to an estimated 7,000 over the next five to 10 years.

In addition to offering flights to European destinations, mainly operated by Thomsonfly.com and Ryanair, long-haul flights to Florida, Mexico and the Dominican Republic will take off next summer.

David Ryall, the managing director, said: "We are aiming to become the 'airport of choice' east of the Pennines for passengers and airlines alike. We hope to achieve that goal within the next five years, if not sooner."

It is hoped that the site, seven miles south of Doncaster, will also handle 50,000 tons of freight within five years.

An 800-acre airport business park supports around 100 companies, ranging from car maintenance to IT businesses, with a further 60-acre site planned which could accommodate distribution centres and more hangar space.

Friends of the Earth said the development would add to carbon dioxide emissions and blight the lives of local communities because of aircraft noise and traffic congestion.

Richard Dyer, a campaigner against the airport, said: "The true cost of cheap flights for local communities around Finningley will be blaring aircraft noise, disturbed nights and overcrowded roads."

Airport officials said three or four protesters had staged a brief demonstration, but left the site without causing any problems.

Denis MacShane, the Europe minister, welcomed the opening of the airport, describing it as "an important step in connecting the north of England to Europe".

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Cheers,
White Cap

[Triple Nickel]

Another RAF base down the drain....

Well, at least (same as NRN) it stays an airfield, this is most important. Most old airfields in the UK end up as a race-track...

Greetz, Ron