Paarmo, that may be true, but why shouldnt people come and use MME to visit the local area? Why couldn't we have gone for that market? For years Teesside has been used as a base by coach companies doing trips to North Yorks, County Durham and surrounding areas. With some of the redevelopment going on, why wouldnt people want to visit Yarm, Middlesbrough, Durham, Darlington? I'm out of the area now, but still go back occasionally, and it certainly compares favourably with the area I live in now, which is generally regarded as a tourist hotspot. Certainly there have been many North Americans strolling around this summer, despite the Credit Crunch.
I agree that the local metro system will probably be a white elephant. One only has to look at events in Edinburgh to see how not to input a Metro system. But MME does not need a metro system. An hourly bus service running along the A66 from Darlington Station to Middlesbrough, Via the airport would make an impact, I'm sure. I may be proved wrong, but I think MME was, and remains, the only airport on our route network not served by a regular (at least every 1/2 hour) bus/rail/metro service to the nearest centre of population. Certainly I'm hard pressed to think of one.
However, the big problem as I see it is that Teesside suffers from an ID problem, one that seems to be exacserbated by some sections of the local community and media. MME will never be an East Midlands or Liverpool airport, but why can't it be successful? And why can't Teesside as a whole attract more tourists?