As the last flight took off from Tinsley, the man spearheading the regeneration of the city insisted the local economy could grow on the back of successful airports at Manchester and Doncaster.

Ian Bromley, chief executive of development company Creative Sheffield, said the closure of Sheffield City Airport "will not hold Sheffield's economy back in any way".

He added: "We must start looking forward rather than backward to achieve our full potential. The airport development, in hindsight, was a failed experiment.

"Although all of the major decisions were made prior to my arrival in Sheffield, I think that the important thing is to look for tomorrow's solutions. We are where we are."

The airport opened in 1997 after 50 years of hopes and planning, but scheduled services ended in 2002 and this week saw the last of the private flights. Owners Peel, who also run the Doncaster/Sheffield Robin Hood Airport, blame a lack of demand.

Critics says the closure of the Tinsley airport consigns Sheffield to second-class city status.

A campaign group is considering legal action before the runway is dug up to make way for an extension to a business park. Local businessman Andrew Cook has said "it borders on madness for a city the size of Sheffield to give up its airport without a fight".

However, Mr Bromley is looking to Manchester and Doncaster as the routes to economic prosperity.

Creative Sheffield's new economic masterplan calls for much faster travel times to Manchester, partly to build business between the two cities, but also to improve access to northern England's international hub airport.

And the emerging Sheffield-Doncaster airport serves two of the ten fastest growing districts in England, said Mr Bromley.

"That airport has the capacity for massive expansion over the coming years and, once it is properly connected to the M18, will be within 20 minutes' drive of Sheffield.

"Most airports in major cities are not within their city boundaries at all, but in outlying suburbs and green fields. Washington's Dulles Airport is located miles away from the city, deep in Northern Virginia. I once spent two hours in a taxi trying to get to it and nearly missed my flight.

"In my home city, Toronto's Pearson International Airport is in Mississauga, 20 miles from the city centre. And 50 miles to the west of Toronto's city centre, Hamilton's airport promotes itself as a Toronto destination.

"As an outsider who has come to love this city, I believe that one of our weaknesses is that we sometimes choose to dwell on past decisions, debating over and over whether there were mistakes made.

"We need to get over past decisions and focus on Sheffield and the City Region's bright future. Let's put our energy into making the right decisions for that promising future."