Newcastle International Airport's Value Soaring

A new report has confirmed the multi- million pound value of Newcastle International Airport to the region. MICHAEL BROWN reports

AS ITS latest expansion project nears completion, a new report reckons Newcastle International Airport's value to the North East is higher than ever.

As well as being the starting point for thousands of family holidays, it boosts the region's business sector by offering better connectivity with the rest of the world than roads ever could.

A report commissioned by the airport on its own value was presented to Aviation Minister Theresa Villiers on a visit to Tyneside yesterday.

The research was conducted by specialists from York Aviation.

"It's extremely important for us to communicate the vital role that Newcastle International Airport plays in the North East," said chief executive Dave Laws.

"The economic impact study will feed into the forthcoming Government aviation policy and allow us to continue to make the case for regional air services.

"And the findings reinforce the critical importance of the airport on the regional economy."

The report found that the airport supports 3,200 jobs on-site with a further 4,600 across the North East.

It also claims that the transport hub is worth, including the time saved by being able to take shorter journeys, a staggering £645.7m a year to the region.

That valuation is before any consideration of the £173.6m in goods that are shipped abroad aboard planes leaving it's runway £150m of which are carried aboard the five-year-old Emirates link to Dubai.

Visiting Newcastle International for the third time in less than two years, Ms Villiers said she was impressed by the £3.2m improvement works which have seen a three-storey, 5,242 sq ft terminal extension added complete with double the number of security scanners and a refurbishment of the arrivals hall which has added two more passport control desks.

"Newcastle is one of my favourite airports and I have a tremendous respect for the services they provide," said Ms Villiers, the Conservative representative for Chipping Barnet, in North East London.

"It's great to see the new facilities, the new buildings and the refurbishment of the existing area.

"Clearly passenger experience is crucial so an increase in the security, border control and baggage reclaim space can only help that."

"Connectivity is crucial for a region that excels in manufacturing and access to customers overseas is vital for the North East."

Ms Villiers highlighted the revival of the UK car industry with more vehicles now being shipped abroad than imported for the first time since the 1970s thanks to the success of models such as the Sunderland-built Nissan Qashqai as one of the great examples of how businesses here can thrive on an international stage if they have the infrastructure to support them.

She added: "We're also excited by the prospect of train manufacturing with the Hitachi plant at Newton Aycliffe, from where they want to be able to compete for European contracts.

"And Siemens Thameslink trains will have components made in the region.

"I think the presence of a high-quality airport within the region is part of the reason for that success."

Ms Villiers also delivered some potentially good news for passengers, with details of plans to allow more flexibility in how airports carry out their security screenings with the minister suggesting ideas such as the creation of special "family" lanes could help speed up the process for passengers travelling without children.

Mr Laws said: "We hope the improvements to the security process we have already made are making a positive difference to our customers travelling through the airport.

"Ensuring that they experience an enjoyable journey is a priority for us and we continue to invest in the business and, in turn, the wider region.

"The extension has delivered an excellent platform for future growth and development."

Ms Villiers added that the Government is also speaking to other countries in an effort to open up routes and have them served by Britain's regional airports.

In turn that could boost the £57m and 1,750 jobs the region receives because of tourists coming into the country via Newcastle International.

But with the publication of the Government's sustainable framework for aviation just around the corner a document which Newcastle International has made significant contributions to during the consultation process and Whitehall's desire "to create the right circumstances for regional airports to be a success," Ms Villiers rather inevitably faced questions over the issue of Air Passenger Duty.

Since September 2009, The Journal's A Tax Too Far campaign has been supporting the airport's calls for a reduction in the levy on aviation passengers, which has risen by more than 325% since 2007 to more than 8.5 times the European average.

The York Aviation report estimates that in 2012 passengers travelling through Newcastle will end up paying £48.8m in fees only marginally less that the airport company's £52m turnover.

Though telling a packed roomful of local council leaders that the Government "needs to get the right tax system and to do that we need to listen to airlines, airports and passengers," there was no softening in the stance on APD, which Ms Villiers said was "a matter for the Treasury".

"There's no change on APD," she said. "We feel the aviation sector needs to contribute to the exchequer, particularly as they pay no fuel duty and APD is really a simple system and easy to collect," she explained.

"In an ideal world I'm sure the Chancellor would love to reduce a range of taxes, but it's not possible in this economic climate."

The Government currently plans to continue increasing APD until at least 2016.

It's extremely important for us to communicate the vital role that the airport plays in the North East

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