A Yorkshire airport is coming to the aid of motorcycle fans to help travel to one of the biggest events in the world.
The Isle of Man’s TT Races have been ranked as a once-in-a-lifetime event and fans of the sport can now attend by flying from Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield.
Flights to the Isle of Man by UK regional airline LinksAir started today (April 14) from Doncaster Sheffield Airport with passengers able to travel on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays.
TT Racer Michael Moulai, who has had six top 15 finishes in the event, was on the first flight to the Isle of Man, along with South Yorkshire journalist and TT writer Rachael Clegg. Rachael’s grandfather Tom and father Noel both raced in the TT event.
To mark the start of the new route, Michael and Rachael along with Sheffield-based TT Marshal, Wendy Morris, joined Doncaster Sheffield Airport managing director Steve Gill and Roger Hage, LinksAir commercial manager. Wendy has been a marshal at the prestigious global race for the last ten years.
Additional flights to the Isle of Man have already been added for the 29 and 31 May by LinksAir around the TT Races which take place May 24 – 6 June to help accommodate the extra capacity expected for the event, with further ones being planned.
Steve Gill, managing director at Doncaster Sheffield Airport, said: “It’s great news to have the Isle of Man flights up and running. We have had significant interest in the route from motorcycle fans since we announced it earlier in the year.
“It will mean people can get to the Isle of Man from South Yorkshire in less than an hour, opening up new opportunities to access the island for both business and leisure travellers.”
Roger Hage, LinksAir Commercial Manager, added: “The start of the new route to the Isle of Man is an exciting development for us and comes just days after we started flights to Belfast City from Doncaster Sheffield Airport. Both routes have seen sales ahead of our expectations, which is a positive endorsement of the potential from this region and airport.
“We have an established reputation for delivering charter flights to a host of destinations and we are now looking forward to the next stage of our development by having this and further future aircraft based in South Yorkshire.”
