am not sure that the actual distances involved are the issue
Well, when the airport is 75 miles away from the city it's named after, I might take issue with your statement
Let's think of some crackers ............
Newcastle West (Carlisle, 61 miles)
Lancaster North (Carlisle, 67 miles)
Darlington North (Carlisle, 76 miles)
Carlisle could be on a winner here :-)