are we really saying the North East of England is remote ?
YES! how quickly can you get to a competitor airport? Drive for an hour and where do you get to? Compare that to other airports in the top 15 in the UK.
Look at a map, where's Newcastle's catchment area?? Nothing to the North, Carlisle(!) to the West, Teesside to the South (even poorer than Tyne/Wear) and the North Sea to the East.