There must be something about the Teesside International Airport 's marketing that doesnt appeal to me, and I dont think I'm alone in this. I live close to Teesside International but almost never use it. (I refuse to call it Durham Tees Valley not only for nostalgia but also it is a logistical nightmare getting to Durham from Teesside International unless you go by road - forget it by public transport) The Heathrow flight is really outclassed by a decent train service from Darlington, only about 7 miles away. If I want to go to London I can do it easier by train, both in time and effort.
I am primarily a user of the low cost airlines of which only Wizz appears to operate from TIA. Poland may be a nice place but I dont think it can compare to my last two desinations of Prague and Pisa. I use the websites to search for flights and have BMI, Easyjet and Ryanair on my favourites. When I want a short break away I just look for flights to places that take my fancy and work around what is available from any of the airports within a reasonable distance from me. The furthest south I would use would probably be EMA. This means that EMA, Doncaster, Leeds Bradford, Newcastle are accessible and solely because of the train links, Manchester is convenient too. This leaves me with lots of options but TIA hardly ever matche smy needs. If I need long haul then TIA is convenient for Schipol but otherwise TIA is a long strip of concrete that I go past on my way to another airport.