Sheffield City Airport

[Hjdary]

It not gone yet (19/04/08) but it will be gone by the 21st

I was called up there last night to repair their alarm system and got to have a little walk "airside" . I was going to ask if I could have a good look around but unfortunately I was called to Doncaster so had to get a move on.

The staff there were very upset as the are all redundant from Monday.

There was three Areoplanes on the tarmac which have to be out by Monday too but it turns out that two of them are broken down so they cant fly.

The Airport its self came in the 90's and I think was served by KLM with one flight a day Amsterdam but it was never a great success and after a year or two KLM left.

It seems to have since been used for light aircraft and small business jets.

It was a sad sight last night.

The owners of the land want to replace the runway with more offices but there is a rumour that the Police helicopter might move down the road from its current base to take over the hanger at the bottom of the runway.

Can anyone fill in a bit of its history?

[knightstemplar]

Hi Hjdary

Its sad to see the airport shut. I used to love seeing the KLM coming in to land, I think they must have lined up over our estate when they were coming in. I used to wave to the people on the little planes and used to get people waving back.

Sue

[Hjdary]

We liked the KLM flight because every time it flew over us we knew it was ten past eight!

When it stopped we were all out of sync for a week or two.

[knightstemplar]

We liked the KLM flight because every time it flew over us we knew it was ten past eight!

When it stopped we were all out of sync for a week or two.

Totally agree. you could set your clock by them. I knew when I heard the KLM it was time to get ready for work.

They were dinky little aircraft like the toy one my neighbour had that carried weebles in. (Weebles wobble but they dont fall down) Are you old enough to remember weebles Hjdary? he he

[Hjdary]

Unfortunately...yes :(

[mickjj]

Can't remember where I got this picture from.

[Guest Ducksfeet]

There was something very strange about the construction of the airport and those behind it. The original plans were to site it to the south of the Parkway towards Orgreave. Some of that land was owned by members of the Budge family.

With the coming of the Sheffield Development Corporation (SDC) their remit was to provide an airport. They acquired all the current land that surrounds the airport for the runway (and also for development). The airport was never going to be viable because the runway wa not long enough to allow larger jets to land. Under CAA rules if the runway was just a metre longer it had to be twice as wide, thereby doubling the runway and operational costs. As it was, the airport could never be a viable international proposition.

Rumour has it that much of the whole area was transferred into the ownership of a company based in the Cayman Islands.

If you manage to find anyone who worked for the SDC, takes them to a pub and buy a few drinks. There are a lot more interesting stories around.

[Hjdary]

Another rumor that I heard from a talking dog, was that over the years the Airport staff had mostly broke even but they came up with plan after plan to increase revenue..but each time they did the plans were blocked by the land owners...the same people who shut the place down and sold the land off for office space.

Now first of all...this was just a rumor

Second it was after all their land, to do with as they saw fit.

But it begs the question....if it is true,how much taxpayers money was sunk in to this white Elephant and if tax pounds were used...will we get any of it back when the owners sell the land at no doubt a huge profit to the developers?

[Guest Ducksfeet]

The airport was never built to be a long term project. The SDC had to offer an airport to get the Government finance. The main thing was that the hundreds of acres of surrounding land all got planning permission for industrial use. Just another example of taxpayer being skinned again.