Full story:
British Midland faces £12m claim
Financial Mail
27 April 2008,
Budget airline British Midland is being sued for more than £12m by Durham Tees Valley Airport after it allegedly broke a contract to fly out of the North-East airfield.
DTVA claims British Midland and its bmibaby airline struck a ten-year deal to run 30 flights a week with two Boeing 737s to ten named destinations from the airport, paying fees based on passenger numbers.
But instead, the airport, part of the Peel Group property and transport giant, claims that British Midland flew just one 737 and failed even to ensure that it was full. It cancelled all operations from the airport in November 2006, seven years before the deal was due to expire, according to a High Court writ.
DTVA is making a claim for £12,523,686, based on actual and potential losses.
British Midland, chaired by majority shareholder Sir Michael Bishop, said it would be defending the action.