No economic case for Doncaster Airport

Sam Gregory has written an excellent piece for Now Then on Doncaster Airport.

In case you haven’t got time to read it all the main points are

1. The airport has never been economically viable.
2. South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard is about to pour millions of pounds of our money into re-opening it.
3. Coppard believes the airport could be environmentally good because planes could use Sustainable Aviation Fuel. (SAF), which is currently made from used cooking oil. But this would have to be imported from the Far East!
4. Two-thirds of the environmental impact of planes are from non-CO2 impacts which SAF would not improve.
5. Expanding aviation capacity directly undermines the UK’s climate obligations under the Paris Agreement.
6. Oliver Coppard has avoided most of the questions asked by Now Then.
7. Loans needed for the airport are far more than what was spent on extending Supertram to Rotherham along with the new rolling stock.
8. New Economics Foundation has shown that opening a local airport is bad for the local economy as residents spend more money abroad and less at home.
9. The Mayor for Teeside spent £120m on Teeside Airport which continues to be a loss maker.
10. The Mayoral Climate Assembly voted for re-opening the airport even though there was no debate about it and the assembly were only allowed to hear one side of the argument.
11. Labour are running scared of a far-right victory in the Doncaster Mayor elections which may explain why Coppard is so keen to support the airport.

Please read the full article here.

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