Disability flights among first to take off at DSA

Aviation enthusiasts with disabilities will get the chance to take one of the first passenger flights from Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) since it closed in 2022.

A charity which works to make aviation more accessible will operate two adapted light aircraft over four days between 26-29 May from the former RAF Finningley site.

Aerobility has run for 30 years, providing adapted aviation to people with physical and sensory impairments, learning disabilities, neurodiversity and mental health challenges.

CEO Mike Miller-Smith said: "We give disabled people the chance to fly aircrafts, to take control and see the world from a new perspective."

Miller-Smith, a former commercial pilot, was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in his 20s.

Although his career path changed, he was able to fly smaller planes and wanted to help other people with disabilities.

He said he hoped to bridge a "gap" between the disabled community and the aviation world.

"What a lot of people forget is that disabled people are brilliant problem solvers," he said.

"Every day we face challenges that we need to overcome, and that in the aviation sector is a really useful skill."

The former pilot said: "We take the time to work with every disability type, work out how we can support that person to fly, to feel their aviation aspirations.

"We have a hand control adaption which allows somebody that doesn't have the use of their legs to operate the rudder and the brakes in the aeroplane.

"Also a useful bit of kit that I use myself is the hoist which can lift somebody out of their wheelchair into the pilot seat in a safe way."

Since launching more than three decades ago, the charity has allowed more than 10,000 people to take the controls, and many more with complex disabilities have been given the opportunity to use ground-based activities including flight simulators.

Neil Tucker, chairman of the board of trustees at Aerobility, said the charity took him out of a "very dark place".

"I had a motorcycle accident in 2014 and lost my leg and the use of my left arm, becoming profoundly disabled," he said.

"Clinical staff said I'd never fly again.

"I took a small gap of 30 years between my first solo and my second first solo and it's absolutely liberating because having a disability does mean that your life is limited in so many ways and one of the ways where it's not limited at all is actually in the air."

The charity is inviting people of all ages to apply for one of the 50 places to fly at DSA at the end of May.

The airport has been closed since 2022 when former owner and operator Peel Group said it was no longer financially viable.

City of Doncaster Council expects passenger flights to fully return by Easter 2028.

Christian Foster, director at DSA operator FlyDoncaster Ltd, said: "This is such a special and important opportunity to bring back adapted flights to Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

"Working with Aerobility, it's fantastic to give anybody with a disability - who may have an interest in aviation or just want to see their local area from a new perspective - a chance to experience the wonder of flying.

"We're committed to making sure that our airport is inclusive to all and we look forward to working with Aerobility now and in the future to make sure the aviation industry is accessible both for travel and career opportunities."

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