Give us an airlink

Jul 2 2009 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette

FORMER Teesside MP Michael Bates yesterday urged the Government to support efforts to reinstate the region’s vital air link to Heathrow.

In a discussion in the House of Lords on plans to take National Express East Coast into public ownership, Lord Bates said the North-east relied too heavily on rail services to the capital following the axing of BMI Midlands’ Teesside to Heathrow flight.

He said transport links were “particularly important” to the North-east economy and asked Transport Secretary Lord Adonis if he would support efforts to re-establish Teesside’s air link to the capital.

Lord Adonis said there was “no simple or straightforward answer” to the problem but pledged to look further at the issue of regional air services.

The cancellation of the BMI Midlands service, which ran three times a day to the capital, is a major blow to Durham Tees Valley Airport’s hopes to position Heathrow as “a gateway to Tees Valley”.

The service carried 88,000 passengers in 2007 and will cost the local business community an estimated £1.4m a year.

DTVA is attempting to find a replacement service and has been lobbying senior politicians to hammer out an agreement - a public service obligation (PSO) - that would effectively ringfence landing slots for its flights to Heathrow.

Airport bosses have met North-east Tory Euro MP Martin Callanan and Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers to enlist their support for a PSO.

A PSO is a means of supporting regional airports and regional airlines, which have been forced out of Heathrow by escalating landing fees.

Although ministers have said they have no power to intervene over landing charges, it is understood they would in principle consider a PSO on routes deemed important to a region’s economic development.

The reinstatement of the Heathrow service is a key priority for DTVA, which has been rocked by a series of route cancellations.