Airport and tourism business look to summer 2022 for full recovery

Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) and tourism business TUI have revealed an ambitious “bounce-back” plan with more seats on sale than ever before and two new summer destinations on offer.

They predict summer 2022 is set to be the biggest on record at DSA, with passenger numbers set to grow to more than 1.7 million, potentially exceeding traffic levels of 2019 by more than 30%.

The TUI schedule for next year includes two new summer destinations to Faro (Portugal) and Hurghada (Egypt) and additional capacity of almost 200,000 seats to popular holiday hotspots such as Palma and Malaga (Spain), Corfu, Crete and Kos (Greece).

The summer schedule also heralds the return of long-haul from DSA to Cancun (Mexico) and Sandford (Florida).

TUI and the airport say they anticipate pent-up demand from holidaymakers desperate for a sunshine break, following a volatile 18-months for the aviation industry.

Kate Stow, director of aviation development and corporate Affairs, Doncaster Sheffield Airport, said: “We’re immensely proud of our long-standing relationship with TUI and its continued commitment to regional airports and this relationship has been fundamental to our growth story at DSA.

“We’re already seeing strong demand from customers who haven’t had the chance for a summer getaway for over a year.

“This impressive summer 2022 schedule provides customers even more choice for a holiday in the sun with friends and family.

“As well as two new destinations, TUI have increased flights to 12 existing holiday destinations to cope with the appetite for foreign travel that we know is there and will kick-start as soon as international travel is well and truly opened up again.

“We’re looking ahead to a record-breaking year and would advise customers to think about booking for summer 2022 now.”