The last passenger plane to land at an airport that is closing permanently has just done so.
After six hours of travel from Hurghada (Egypt), the Tui flight landed.
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This is just a few hours after the last flight from Doncaster Sheffield’s runway was completed on Monday.
A second flight will land shortly after midnight but will not have any passengers.
The UK airport confirmed last month that it would be “winding down”Beginning October 31.
One holidaymaker shared his experience with the BBCAfter the news broke “The crew on our flight were on their penultimate flight and they were in tears.”
A couple was shocked to discover that their holiday was cancelled the day before they flew, because the airport was closing.
Peel Group, which owns the airport, said that it was no longer viable to operate due to a “lack of adequate forward revenues and high operating costs”.
The decision was not well received by passengers, one of whom said that it was unfair. “waste of a good runway”.
After a petition that had more than 100,000 signatures and which sought to keep the airport open, hundreds marched in support of keeping it open.
Robert Hough, chairman of Peel Airports Group, stated: “We recognize that this will be a great disappointment for many.
“The intractable problem remains the fundamental and insufficient lack of current or prospective revenue streams, together with the airport’s high operating costs.”
This closure will impact thousands of flights per year.
Aviation analytics companyCiriumsaid it was the 26th biggest airport in the UK, recording 4,609 flights in 2019.
It was also voted the best UK airport, according to Which?.
Despite having flights to popular destinations such as Tenerife and Lanzarote, the airport was hit hard when airline Wizz Air pulled out, leaving just TUI flights in operation.