Recession, snow, ash - let's celebrate!

Jul 14 2010 by Brian Nicholls, The Journal

The team behind the success of Newcastle Airport have coped superbly with recent challenges as the airport looks forward to a 75th anniversary celebration. Dave Laws looks optimistically to its future.

FOR Newcastle International Airport, 2010 is a year of celebration. The airport reaches its 75th anniversary on July 26 at a time when the aviation industry has perhaps never felt more challenged.

The airport was recovering from the effects of recession – as green shoots started to show – when down came the snow – then the ash! But it is remarkable how the region’s main airport has grown from a grass airstrip and a few huts in 1935 to the modern and dynamic gateway to the world we see today.

Anniversary year began with the severest winter for 40 years, but a concerted team effort kept the airport open throughout 97% of the bad weather. It was a similar response when European aviation was grounded for seven days by Iceland’s volcanic ash.

The closure of airspace was greater than at any time since the Second World War, but again the team responded. When fortune shone upon Newcastle, the team swung into action brilliantly. Newcastle was one of the first airports to reopen, then the only one to remain open.

It supported the rest of the country for diversions. At the end of the seven-day period it was where the UK’s first transatlantic flight landed. World media focused on Newcastle and the airport team delivered.

Throughout the downturn, and subsequent tentative recovery, the airport has acted as a barometer. Turnover is down slightly since before the downturn, but passenger traffic has proved more of an indicator.

As recession took hold, passenger numbers declined. But with recovery a modest improvement in numbers is anticipated. This will be enhanced by growth from new services, including Ryanair to Oslo and Flybe to Hanover (year round) and Guernsey (peak summer), as well as increasing frequency on Brussels, and additional holiday destinations.

The airport’s flagship route with Emirates to Dubai has weathered the recession remarkably, with passenger traffic up 23% during the first quarter. In May Emirates Group announced a record profit increase in 2009-10 of 248% – outstanding in a year of market instability and economic uncertainty.

Emirates has had a dramatic effect on the regional economy. UK Trade & Investment says business between the North East and Australasia has grown £100m to £300m a year since Emirates flights were introduced in September 2007.

Other signs of growing confidence include a new, award-winning petrol station making a strong start, and a 178- bedroom hotel, expected to open soon. Plans for office, hangar and logistics development on the south side of the airport are also expected to be reinvigorated shortly.

The airport looks forward to engaging with the new government in the hope of influencing aviation policy. The Journal and Newcastle International campaign ongoing, A Tax Too Far, aims to protect air travel in the North East for holidaymakers, regional business and inbound tourism against the further increases in air passenger duty (APD) due later this year in addition to an increase last November.

The new government proposes to reform APD into a tax per plane tax, which could trigger further problems for the region. So the campaigning will continue!

Dave Laws is chief executive of Newcastle Airport