Newcastle Airport should have links to America, China and India, report says - Chronicle Live
http://www.transportforthenorth.com/...rt_websafe.pdf
Given the distance of the North East to other Northern airports, even with surface access improvements, journey times of over two hours and passenger leakage from the North to airports in Scotland and the South of England are likely.
Newcastle Airport, with its distinct catchment area therefore has a particularly important role within the North’s wider offer in providing international connectivity for businesses/entrepreneurs based in the North-East, Cumbria and Southern Scotland, as well as for potential inward investors and inbound visitors/outbound tourists.
Newcastle already provides global access via Dubai and has previously had a service to New York. We would expect Newcastle to expand its European
and global network, with the potential to add services to destinations such as those shown on the map over the period to 2050, as well as expanding its range of leisure routes. Figure 6 sets out new significant international business routes we would look for Newcastle to have regular services to, by 2050, under the transformational scenario. (Athens Atlanta Beijing Berlin Budapest Delhi Frankfurt Hamburg Hong Kong Istanbul Munich Oslo Stuttgart Toronto Toulouse Zurich)
For an area such as the North East, hub connections like Heathrow are also likely to remain important to provide a broader range of international connectivity without lengthy surface access journeys.
To achieve this growth Newcastle will need improvements to the A696 and associated junctions that connect it to the A1, regional rail access with an improved interchange at Newcastle Central Station and improvements to the existing Metro network and its rolling stock.