Airport jobs give economy boost

The first flight will depart on 28 April

Plans to create thousands of jobs in South Yorkshire on the back of its new airport are well on track, bosses say.

More than 85% of the 611 jobs already in place at Robin Hood Airport, near Doncaster, have gone to people living within a 40-minute drive from the site.

The airport has directly employed 154 staff, while the rest of the jobs are with its partners and contractors.

The first scheduled Thomsonfly flight is due to take off from the former RAF Finningley base on 28 April.

Managing director David Ryall said: "We were originally predicting that the airport would act as a catalyst for creating in excess of 7,000 jobs over a ten-year period.

"With 611 on board at day one it won't be long before we reach that goal."