Wizz Air to transfer all flights to Leeds Bradford as Doncaster Sheffield Airport permanently shuts

Wizz Air has today confirmed that all routes to Doncaster Sheffield Airport will transfer to Leeds Bradford from October 31, 2022.

It follows the announcement on Monday that Doncaster Sheffield Airport is set for permanent closure.

Doncaster Sheffield Airport’s owner, the Peel Group, announced on Monday that operations will be wound down from the end of October with 'no tangible proposals’ on the airport’s future put forward.

The Peel Group said that the high fixed costs associated with running a safe, regulated airport, together with recent events materially reducing prospective future aviation income streams, mean that a break-even business plan cannot be identified for the foreseeable future.

Wizz Air flights from Gdansk, Katowice, Krakow, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Bucharest, and Cluj-Napoca will continue to operate to Doncaster Sheffield Airport as planned until October 30.

Customers booked to travel on those routes after October 30 will be automatically rebooked onto flights operating to Leeds Bradford Airport and will be given the option to accept the new flight, change their booking to an alternative flight free of charge, or cancel their flight to receive a full refund to the original payment method or 120 per cent in WIZZ credit.

It follows a similar announcement from TUI which will see the airline increasing capacity from surrounding airports – East Midlands, Leeds Bradford and Manchester.

TUI customers across the region will have even greater access to some of the most popular holiday destinations, with additional weekly flights from all three airports to the Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, mainland Spain, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt.

Plus access to exciting new destinations, including Dalaman, Antalya and Dubrovnik for summer 2023.

The closure of Doncaster Sheffield is expected to put over 800 jobs at risk with GMB Union criticising the move as a ‘narrow minded failing of fat cat business owners’.

The Peel Group announced the airport’s closure despite the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and Doncaster Council offering to cover the airports operating losses for up the 13 months while a buyer is found.