Sorry, VentureGo, but I don't think there is any such thing as "The North East" anymore. Newcastle Airport draws its passengers from the Scottish borders, Cumbria, County Durham and Teesside as well as Tyne and Wear. It also delivers inbound traffic for all these destinations. If you look at the departure screens at Darlington railway station, you will see regular departures to "Manchester Airport". That tells you how far (metaphorically) that both Newcastle and Teesside Airports have to go in terms of hearts, minds and wallets.