Skyman
In reality the residents of Teesside are well served for local airports, the distance - access time to reach NCL for most of those living in Teesside is actually better than for many living in other parts of the country to reach an airport with that level of services. In addition those residents living to the South have other options. Given the demographics of the North East then it is well served for airports. Unfortunately it does seem though that although it is a bitter pill to swallow, history is once again suggesting that the region is unable to support two airports with similar aspirations and that there can only be one winner
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So yes, as bmi baby, TUI, Wizz, Ryanair, Eastern and others found in the middle of the last decade, the local population didn't book enough seats or pay a sufficient price for the seats they did book, to make it worthwhile. If this were a management issue as opposed to a catchment & competition issue, Doncaster and Liverpool would have seen similar problems.