Joe, - You're simply wrong and out of date! - Newcastle and its catchment area relies on its Air & Sea links for International Trade... Exports, Financial & Commercial Business, Freight as well as Inbound tourism for not only the immediate Newcastle City venues, but also the wider area of Cumbria, Northumberland, County Durham, Teeside, Lake District and the Scottish Borders.
Did you actually read the report
Recent research by Oxford Economics found £3.6bn worth of exports from the region are dependent on air travel and 96% of these go via a hub airport like Heathrow.
It’s reckoned to support 2,000 tourism jobs and 700 airport jobs in the North East, with visitors travelling via Heathrow contributing £49.3m to the region’s GDP in 2010. The study also found one in seven jobs in the region is dependant on foreign investment.
I really don't understand your argument re. VAT, UK businesses losing out etc...
Newcastle Airport has brought huge advances in trade with countries served by Emirates daily service to and beyond its Dubai hub.
In my opinion it is the lack of competition and regulatory red tape and anti competitive Airline Alliances preventing a similar East bound North American link to major hubs in the U.S.