Much as I find myself reluctant to say this, is an airport really the best use of a large swathe of land near Middleton St George ? Alternatively, would the region be better served with the local area being converted into an alternate use ? There were more passengers passing through MME in the year of decimalisation (yes, 1971, the year when the UK used shillings and there were 240 pence to a pound) than in 2016
There is an argument for wanting a double daily connection to Heathrow, but LHR is so full there is no chance of this happening before 2025 or whenever R3 is completed. Looking at the routes that were served from MME in 2007, the vast bulk were beach and leisure destinations - ie producing little or no inward investment or economic boost into the area.
Teesside as an area suffers hugely from overall deprivation; the credit crunch since 2008 has not been kind at all. Is a barely used airport really the best way for regeneration or is there something else that could or should be done to the area to boost the economy ?