newcastle Airport

Although during World War II the main airport in the region was located at Cramlington in Northumberland, following the war a decision was taken to concentrate development on the present airport site. Accordingly, in the early 1950s, ex-RAF fighter pilot Jim Denyer was appointed as Airport Manager and within a few years over 5,000 people were using the Airport each year to travel to destinations such as Jersey and the Isle of Wight. The 1960s saw tremendous growth in passenger numbers at the Airport. This was mainly due to British people taking foreign holidays to places such as Spain instead of holidaying within the UK. A new runway was built, along with an apron and a new air traffic control tower. These new additions were opened by the then-Prime Minister, Harold Wilson. In the 1970s, with passenger figures approaching one million per year, the Airport status was changed to Category B, making it a regional international airport. The 1980s saw further investment in check-in, catering and duty-free shops. In 1991, Airport Metro station opened, connecting the airport with Newcastle and later in 2002 Sunderland city centres using the Tyne and Wear Metro system. A new £27 million extension was opened in 2000 by then-Prime Minister Tony Blair and the first low-cost airline arrived at the airport, with Go inaugurating a service to London Stansted following the collapse of locally based Gill Airways. 2001 saw the acquisition of a 49% stake in the Airport by Copenhagen Airports.