By Sale of Doncaster Airport still live says union
The sale of Doncaster Sheffield airport is still going ahead and airport is still live says the GMB Union as the fight to keep the site opens continues.
Operations at the airport began to wind down on Monday as the last flight to leave the airport departed on Saturday afternoon.
Don Valley MP Nick Fletcher has spoken publicly on the issue on multiple occasions, sharing that a ‘substantial offer’ has now been made to Peel by potential buyer.
However, Mr Fletcher added that Peel has ‘played no part’ in securing potential buyers and that they ‘continue to put in place barriers to our efforts.’
Speaking on BBC Radio Humberside, Sarah Barnes from the GMB Union said the airport is still live and that negotiations are still ongoing for potential offers.
She said: “In terms of compliance, no worker has yet been made redundant, the redundancy consultations have been extended while negotiations are going, most workers are on paid leave and some are still on site.
“800 are directly affected by the closure in the airport and roughly 2,700 people in businesses that are connected to the airport.”
When asked by host Andy Burns if the closure is inevitable she responses: “It’s not inevitable. The licenses and everything are still in place, they are due to go on November 18. If the beacons get turned off then it’s very difficult to get them turned back on and it will no longer be an airport but at this moment in time no redundancies have happened and Peel said that they are in negotiations with interested parties.”
Rumoured interested parties are believed to be from the United Arab Emirates, with some suggesting it could be Emirates airlines wanting to buy the site.
Ms Barnes added that she did not know the asking price for the airport but that it had been valuated at roughly £250 million and that an above value offer had been made to Peel.
She went on to say: “I think the communication from Peel has been poor and not giving people hope. Our thought is that they just want to get rid of the airport and sell the land and it’s assests for the £800 million that it’s worth.
“I do think the campaign has been a success in terms of putting the pressure on Peel. We’ve been working with all the political parties and the mayor of South Yorkshire to persuade Peel to do the right thing and we now know the new transport secretary is now involved to encourage Peel to accept the deal.”
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