Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Aviation firm 2Excel reveals major expansion ambitions for site after jet landing milestone

2Excel Aviation, which already has around 200 people based on the DSA site, has revealed the ambition after landing a Boeing 727 oil spill response aircraft at DSA yesterday.

It was the first large jet to arrive at DSA since its closure in 2022 – with the flight coming in the midst of a growing political row about City of Doncaster Council’s attempts to reopen the airport.

2Excel’s services range from arranging VIP charter flights to creating, testing and certifying aeroplane technology, as well as providing aircraft to help with Coastguard search and rescue missions and dealing with global oil spills.

Ben Griffiths, Group Communications Director at 2Excel, told The Yorkshire Post the company had to move some services and staff away from DSA following the closure but has retained a substantial presence, including its 24/7 operations, design engineering, production and certifications teams.

He said: "The only thing we haven’t been doing too much of is flying live missions from here because it isn’t a commercial airport at the moment but we can bring in aeroplanes in and out of here for engineering. This is the biggest aircraft to come back since Doncaster closed but we fly smaller aircraft in and out of here all the time.

"We are an engineering company, like an MOT garage for airliners. We’ve got guys who can take an aeroplane apart into a million bits and put it back together again, just like you’d service a car. If somebody invents something new for an airplane, we’ve got the ability and approvals to create that equipment and test whether it works and certify it. We also do delivery services from VIP transport to more specialist missions like oil spill.”

Mr Griffiths said Doncaster’s central location is ideal for the company’s operations.

"It is as quick for us to get to the very north of Scotland as the south coast, the Channel or Cornwall. It is also the centre of the UK search and rescue area. If we scrambled during the day, we have to get a coastguard airline in the air within 45 minutes. Being in Doncaster means we’re right in the middle.”

He said: "We’ve always had this ambition to double our footprint here. If the airport reopens, we would like to take another hangar so we can expand. We’d even like more space than that. We employ well-paid, really high-skilled people here in South Yorkshire and the benefits of that are myriad for the wider economy as well.

"We had 200 here and about 50 people involved in flying or maintaining aircraft have had to work elsewhere.

"If we could double our footprint, we would absolutely be looking to recruit more technical people. We would love to have a bigger apprenticeship scheme up in the North. Doncaster would be the home of that because we can train those people on the job.”

He said the timeframe for expansion is dependent on DSA receiving airspace certification, a process that is currently under way.

"As soon as we could do more flying from here we would. We would like to get into the hangar adjacent to ours as quickly as possible, get it up to standard and move people and equipment into the building as well.

"We’ve had good faith all the way through the airport would eventually reopen. Otherwise, we simply wouldn’t have stayed. We would really like to retain a base.”

The oil spill aircraft which flew in on Tuesday was previously based at DSA but is now located in Southend and was the last of 2Excel’s aeroplanes to leave DSA before it closed.

Mr Griffiths said: "In an ideal world, we could bring the things that used to be based in Doncaster back here and probably grow further. The oil spill response contract is a 20-year contract. The renewed one starts in 2028 and will see two newer aircraft based in the UK. It would be great if they came back to Doncaster wouldn’t it?”

Christian Foster, Director of Airport Operator FlyDoncaster Ltd, said: “It’s quite a moment seeing a jet land at the airport for the first time in almost four years. We’re fortunate to have one of the longest, strongest and widest commercial runways in the UK, so seeing 2Excel Aviation’s 727 land at Doncaster is a good preview to what we’ll experience in the coming years.

"In the past, this airport has handled movements from the largest aircraft in the world. Seeing a plane land at the airport was a proud moment for the team, and testament to the hard work that has been undertaken to date.”

Andy Offer Chief Executive at 2Excel Aviation said: “We’re pleased to bring this aircraft back to Doncaster, our main operating base and where the 727 oil spill response fleet was stationed before the airport’s closure.

“We have always maintained a strong presence here, even during the period it has been closed. It is a strategically important site for 2Excel and we continue to work with the team at FlyDoncaster Ltd to ensure we have a long and successful future at DSA.

“Having been resident at DSA for more than a decade, our intention has always been to more than double our footprint at the airfield. Doncaster Sheffield Airport is not only an important asset for the region and centrally located for much of our work, but its reopening represents a clear opportunity for the resilience of UK aviation more generally, including our own plans.”

This article was authored by Chris Burn for Yorkshire Post and published under the title 'Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Aviation firm 2Excel reveals major expansion ambitions for site after jet landing milestone', on Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Aviation firm 2Excel reveals major expansion ambitions for site after jet landing milestone. It is reproduced above in accordance with section 30(2) of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.