Flight Plan Started With the Grass Roots and Soared to the Jetstream

Newcastle Airport started life as little more than a hanger and a grass runway in 1935 ( it is now the most rapidly-expanding in the UK.

It is the ninth-largest in the UK, but passenger numbers continue to soar ( 5.19 million passed through its doors in 2005.

The latest big-name airline to arrive is Emirates, which in January announced a daily service to Dubai from September 1 this year.

Newcastle Airport is owned by seven local authorities ( Durham and Northumberland County Councils, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland councils, who have a 51% stake, and Copenhagen Airport, which has 49%. At the end of last year, it was revealed that a re-financing deal at the airport left the local authorities sharing an pounds 80m dividend. The airport paid the money out after it struck a deal effectively to re- mortgage the site.

The airport recently set out development proposals until 2016.

In the near term, these include building a multi-storey car park to replace the current short-stay parking area, a 187-bedroom on- site hotel and the expansion of the freight facilities.

There are also plans to extend the runway at its east end and connect the airport with the National Rail network.

(c) 2007 The Journal – Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.