The Good Growth Foundation (GGF) is urging the Government to use existing powers to fast-track airspace reforms at Doncaster Sheffield Airport that it says could unlock up to 800 skilled jobs and £110 million to the local economy.

In a new report, A Golden Ticket for Government, GGF argues regional airports like Doncaster Sheffield could become hubs for drones, aerospace engineering, testing, advanced logistics and autonomous aviation.

The report identifies Doncaster Sheffield Airport as a large, higher-capacity opportunity. With its existing infrastructure and freight history, the report says the site could help anchor a Northern aerospace ecosystem, with an illustrative potential of 600-800 direct jobs and regional GVA towards the upper end of a £80-110 million range.

Lydd Airport in Kent is identified as the proposed national pilot for a new Special Use Airspace model. It argues that a dedicated, managed airspace area would enable drones, autonomous aircraft and conventional aviation to operate safely together, helping to attract investment in the “third generation of flight.”

If the Lydd model is proven, the report argues it could provide a blueprint for other regional sites, including Doncaster Sheffield Airport. It says comparable airports could support between 300 and 800 direct jobs and generate approximately £40 million to £110 million in regional Gross Value Added, depending on local circumstances.

The report says the UK faces a growing risk of losing firms and investment in drones, autonomous systems and AI-enabled aviation because the current airspace-change process, CAP 1616, can take years to complete. It argues that the delay can be commercially damaging to fast-moving businesses and make overseas locations more attractive.

The authors say ministers can act without new legislation. Under the Transport Act 2000, the Transport Secretary can issue Air Navigation Directions to prioritise and accelerate airspace changes that serve the national strategic interest.

The Good Growth Foundation argues that this mechanism could help airports develop new commercial roles in sectors such as drone inspection, logistics, maintenance, aerospace manufacturing, testing, software and airspace-management systems.
The wider goal is to replace a model of regional-airport decline with one based on strategic infrastructure, high-skilled employment and future-facing industry.

Praful Nargund, Director of The Good Growth Foundation, said: “Yorkshire has the infrastructure, skills and industrial heritage to play a leading role in the next generation of aviation. The government should back the model at Lydd and replicate it here to unlock high-skilled jobs and investment. This is what good growth in every postcode looks like.”

Tony Vaughn MP (Folkestone and Hythe) said: “Lydd Airport is part of the fabric of Kent as an employer, a base for Channel operations and as infrastructure with enormous potential to deliver even more for the area. This proposal offers a chance to put Lydd on a secure footing for the future, bringing new investment and good jobs for local people while helping to ensure that young people do not have to leave the area to find skilled work.

“I want to see our coastal communities at the front of the queue for the jobs and industries of the future. With the right backing from Government, Lydd can be a powerful example of what that looks like in practice.”