THE operators of Liverpool Airport are planning to open a new £80m airport near Doncaster in South Yorkshire.
Peel Airports claims Doncaster Finningley Airport will handle 275,000 customers next year, rising to 2.3m by 2014.
Initially, the main customers will be charter operators but Peel says scheduled carriers will offer flights to Europe and beyond.
Airtours International and Britannia Airways have both visited the site and are understood to be interested in launching flights for next summer.
Peel has submitted a planning application to the local council in order to start construction later this year.
Chairman Robert Hough said the airport will have a catchment area of 4m customers within a 1hr drive.
He added Civil Aviation Authority figures show 5m passengers from Yorkshire and the Humberside area choose to fly from either Manchester and London airports rather than from their local airports because there is not a viable alternative service.
Finningley’s site, on an old Royal Air Force base, has a runway capable of taking large jets. A train station is also planned to serve the airport and motorways are nearby.
Peel and local councils and communities have set up a working group to discuss the plans before they can be agreed.