Ah, see we are fighting old battles rather than looking forward?
Peel wanted the land and did their best to close the airport. They ran the place down from the word go.
If Peel wanted to close the airport from the word go, they didn't do a very good job of it - all they had to do was p*ss of KLM and give FRA an offer they couldn't refuse to move to DSA. Wasn't it Peel that brought in Baby and Globespan? Weak companies, but that tells its own story. Nobody else dived in when they went.
As for the land, plenty of land at MME without closing the airport. Why go to the trouble of closing the airport, which wouldn't endear any planning applications to the LA's? It's not as if Teesside is short of alternative brownfield sites, but only one with a runway. Even the Mayor is looking to do the same to the Southside as Peel was after. Look at LPL - why didn't Peel replicate that if the market conditions where there?
The 2008 crash saw aviation shrink by 12%, Teesside shrank by over 80% in pax alone.
In any recession, airlines retreat to their stongholds and the marginal bases go (look at EZY this year). Don't forget that the north-east is one of the countries poorest areas. Newcastle has never got back to 2007 levels, even with MME's decline - EDI and LBA have grown greatly, but they are in richer areas.
Peel told the largest charter airline in Europe to get lost!! How much more evidence do you need?
Baffling, but only one flight a week. Cock-up more likely than conspiracy. It was also Peel that got Balkan back in...
How come Peel couldn't with a department that ran airports and far deeper pockets? They didn't want to!! We are lucky to have someone who believes in the airport, puts his money where his mouth is and has the success of the region at heart. Power to his elbow!!!
Well, easier to spend somebody elses money rather than your own. I've got reservation about the the Eastern/Loganair conumdrum and the London adventures, but the airport is moving in the right direction and the Mayor is to be applauded for that.
So what are the dangers? Worst case is that the Mayor is pursuing a popular policy for election purposes and once he moves onto bigger and better things, interest will wane and Teesside will be left with a white elephant airport that never earns it's keep. Maybe the region would have been better spending that money elsewhere on projects that provided fewer photo opportunities.
A broad range of operators and destinations, an increasing diverse range of businesses on the airport and making best use of the land available (doesn't this sound like Peel's last Masterplan?) is what the airport needs - but all of that needs a hell a lot of money, all I'm questioning is whether there is enough business there to make it sustainable, and whether it's the best use of public money.