Doncaster Sheffield Airport said it has become the country’s fastest growing airport.
It said the latest Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) figures showed the airport had 43.1% growth with rolling passenger numbers of 1.3 million between April 1, 2016 and March 31, 2017.
Chris Harcombe, head of aviation development at Doncaster Sheffield Airport, said: “This is fantastic news and we are thrilled to once again have the status of the fastest growing airport, with over 1 million passengers, in the country.
“It is great to see so many people supporting our development by choosing to fly local.
“Passengers have over 40 routes on offer to them from our airport and access to the airport is now so easy thanks to the motorway link road opening.
“Early last year we announced a new partnership with Flybe which has brought more low cost flights to the airport and provided access to European hubs including Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin and Paris and popular leisure routes including Alicante, Malaga, Faro and Palma.”
Doncaster Sheffield Airport also said it won a new cargo contract bringing flowers and vegetables to the UK for some of the country’s largest retailers.
The airport secured a deal with Network Airline Management, which will begin a weekly MD11 service from Nairobi to Yorkshire this week.
Dayle Hauxwell, cargo manager for Doncaster Sheffield Airport said: “We’ll be working with Network Airline Management to handle a weekly scheduled flight from Nairobi with flowers and vegetables for the UK market.
“This deal will see some 3,500 tonnes of cargo transported a year. This new scheduled operation also opens up the opportunity for UK export freight.
“Our entrance into this new market is further evidence that the cargo operation has established an international reputation as the UK’s most freighter friendly airport.”
Andy Walters, commercial director of Network Airline Management, said: “We selected to fly to Doncaster Sheffield Airport for a number of reasons.
“It offers a 24 hour operation without being slot restricted, is very freighter friendly and considerably less congested than other locations.”
