I was looking at the Doncaster departures and arrivals board yesterday and there were only 2 departures and 2 arrivals. What happens to the coffee shops, news agents, restaurants, checking staff, security staff and bar on such quiet days? Does the terminal close down between flights and only have part time staff or does it stay open 24/7? Is Doncaster really as quiet as Dundee and only half as busy as Teeside?
In cases like this everything airside closes once the aircraft has departed. It will depend on each individual shop/outlet on what happens to the staff during the closed period, i.e continue to use this time to restock, tidy clean etc or shut up fully. Landside the airports doors will remain open to the public, however the shops will be closed and you will probably see nothing more than a deserted terminal building.
The airline ground agents will usually finish after the departure of the aircraft when there is a large gap between flights. A few skeleton staff will remain as the airport is still open for operations 24 hours a day throughout the year and so a team would be there should there be a diversion for example.
A number of the security team will remain where needed. The central passenger search area in the terminal building will be closed just like overnight to keep staffing levels to a minimum.
On a Wednesday at DSA throughout the winter there is now only one departure in the evening. It would be a good idea for the airport to keep the terminal building closed off to the public during the day until say atleast 3 to 4 hours before the planned departure time of the flight (currently 21:25). This would help to reduce costs further by being able to save electricity - no or lower level light settings required, lower heating settings, less security walkaround checks and even potentially less need for cleaning services for example.
Hope this helps!