Finningley

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Finningley

Coordinates: 53.4833° N 0.9833° W

Finningley (South Yorkshire)
Finningley
Finningley shown within South Yorkshire
OS grid reference SK6745699021
Metropolitan borough Doncaster
Metropolitan county South Yorkshire
Region Yorkshire and the Humber
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town DONCASTER
Postcode district DN9 3
Dial code 01302
Police South Yorkshire
Fire South Yorkshire
Ambulance Yorkshire
European Parliament Yorkshire and the Humber
List of places: UKEnglandYorkshire

Finningley is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. Historically part of Nottinghamshire, Finningley lies along the A614 road, about six miles from the centre of Doncaster, at 53°29′N 0°59′W, and at an elevation of around seven metres above sea level.

Finningley is known for its airport, formerly RAF Finningley. The base housed a 'V' force of Vulcan bombers during the Cold War, and for 35 years it hosted a regular air show which, by the 1990s, was the largest one-day military air show in the country. However, the end of the Cold War led to the base being closed in April 1996, with the air show dying with it.

The 2741 metre long runway, currently the second longest in the north of England, was sufficiently large to take even Concorde, and in the period after the closure of the RAF base there were several campaigns to turn Finningley into a commercial airport for the underserved South Yorkshire region (as well as neighbouring Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire).

Plans for the conversion were finally approved in 2003, with the first flights in April 2005. It is anticipated that the airport, renamed Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield, will reach maximum capacity by 2014.

Leon Motors, a bus company based in Finningley, operates buses in Doncaster. Formed in 1922, it was taken over by MASS of North Anston during 2004.

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