Nighthawk117 has put over the "global connectivity" argument - as to the point about taking money out of the local economy, well that depends on whether the journey would take place whether there is a regional airport or not. I suspect it would - if not Malaga it would be Whitby or Skegness, or more likely it would be a flight to Malaga from MAN or LBA. If the journey is going to take place anyway, it might has well be from a local airport, creating supporting local jobs etc, etc .