Doncaster Sheffield Airport welcomes 1.2 million passengers in best year ever

Doncaster Sheffield Airport has reported its best year ever, after welcoming a record 1.2 million passengers in 2016.

The airport, which launched 15 new routes in 2016 to destinations including Paris, Dublin, Jersey, Sofia and Cluj, beat its previous busiest year (2007) by 11%.

Passenger numbers increased month-on-month in comparison to 2015, with August the busiest, when more than 157,000 passengers travelled from Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

The year saw Flybe increase operates from the airport, opening up new European routes to city break and leisure destinations, major travel hubs and a further ski destination from DSA in Chambery.

Additionally, Wizz Air unveiled new connections to Sofia in Bulgaria and Cluj in Romania.

Combined with Thomson’s existing routes, with newly launched flights to Dubrovnik and Bourgas, the airport is now offering more destinations than ever before.

2016’s passenger figures also means that the South Yorkshire airport has now seen 26 months of consecutive growth.

Steve Gill, chief executive of DSA, said: “We’re proud to have marked 2016 as our best year yet, with our warmest thanks to our customers new and returning for choosing to fly local and support us.”

“The launch of new routes through our partnerships with Flybe, Thomson, Wizz Air and the opening of the Great Yorkshire Way motorway link road to the airport have played a major part in our ability to offer our passengers even more value and choice, and these figures are a testament to that.

“To complement these growing numbers, we have also invested in our terminal facilities to continue delivering a smooth and pleasant journey through and whilst at the airport.”

Steve added: “Our airlines’ codesharing agreements have opened up seamless long-haul connections to destinations such as Chicago, New York and Dubai, putting us in a fantastic position to support long haul tourism and business travel and in turn, the growth of the Sheffield City Region’s economy.

“We look forward to continuing our growth in 2017 and working with the region to develop our long term plans.”

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