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Doncaster Sheffield Airport, once known as Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield Airport, lies on the site of the former RAF Finningley near Doncaster in South Yorkshire. Built around a single long, ILS-equipped runway inherited from its military past, the airport served commercial traffic from 2005 until its closure in November 2022, and is now the subject of active plans for reopening.
Doncaster Sheffield Airport (ICAO: EGCN) occupies the site of the former RAF Finningley airfield to the south-east of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It operated as a civil airport under the Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield Airport brand from 2005, later simply as Doncaster Sheffield Airport, before closing to scheduled traffic in November 2022. For a simulator pilot, the field is notable for its very long, ex-military runway and its layered history spanning the Royal Flying Corps, RAF Bomber Command and Cold War V-force operations.
The airport sits near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, at coordinates 53.4753, -1.0042, at an elevation of 36 feet. Its origins as a military station and its long runway reflect its role as a substantial airfield in the region's airspace structure, though specific airspace classification detail is not covered in the sources reviewed.
The airfield has a single physical runway, 02/20, of hard surface construction, approximately 8974 to 8977 feet in length, lit, and equipped with ILS approaches from both directions.
The runway 02/20 is served by ILS on both approach directions, as reflected in the aerodrome's technical data. No specific radio callsign or frequency details were available in the sources reviewed for this guide.
No specific joining, circuit height or noise abatement procedures were available in the sources reviewed for this guide.
No published visual reference points were identified in the sources reviewed for this guide.
The airfield began life as Finningley Airfield, opened in 1915 as a base for the Royal Flying Corps tasked with intercepting raids on the industrial cities of Northern England. It went on to serve as a training station during the Second World War, and during the Cold War it hosted nuclear-armed Vulcan bombers as part of the RAF's V-force, before the station was decommissioned in 1995. A decade later, in April 2005, the site reopened as a civil airport under the name Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield Airport, its maiden flight departing for Palma on 28 April 2005; the Robin Hood name proved controversial, reportedly chosen because the medieval outlaw's legends were set in nearby Barnsdale Forest in South Yorkshire, and a petition against the branding gathered more than 10,000 signatures. The airport grew rapidly, becoming the fastest-growing in the UK a year after opening with 1.25 million passengers, and was rebranded simply as Doncaster Sheffield Airport in 2016. It closed to commercial operations in November 2022 having served over 850,000 passengers in its final full year.
Doncaster Sheffield Airport has been closed since November 2022. Plans for reopening are underway, with funding of up to £160 million approved and a further £57 million loan agreed to support redevelopment, with a target of resuming commercial flights in winter 2027. As a sign of renewed activity, a Boeing 727 landed at the site on 28 April 2026, the first large jet to touch down there since closure. The airport is not currently open for flying operations.
