I note that passenger numbers increased in 2018, halting an 11 year decline. At 142,000 it is still only one third of the passengers through Blackpool when they shut-up shop.

Wouldnt that be true then for the other 'International' airports with direct rail connections, bus services and (usually full) car parks?

Wasnt the issue that Blackpool runway at 1869 mtrs was OK for Jet2's 737-300s but unable to take the coming -800s etc so by 2014 had no B&S flights?

I think this is an excellent point. There is no money to be made from planes landing in the short term so the cash will have to come from parking, taxis and retail, especially as the £6 fee will be going.

If you live in Darlington, taxis are £10 to the airport and if you live further afield, a taxi to MME will still be cheaper than getting one to NCL. A shuttle bus service to Stockton/Middlesbrough aligned with leisure flight departures & arrivals at £5 per person would possibly be interesting but the airport needs to retain the income on such a service.

In 2006, when the airport was at it's peak in terms of passenger numbers, only 85 people used the railway station in the whole year! Let's worry about the station when we get back to 1m pax annually.

There was a electric shuttle bus which ran between the station and terminal I think it was in the 70s

...and couldn't make money on what Jet2 was willing to pay.

The problem with small airports like MME, BLK etc is how to attract that critical mass of pax that will support shops, public transport etc before you start making money from them.

The electric shuttle bus used to run before the days of low cost it was replaced by a service bus for a short while. Then the green fence with the locked gates appeared to make it difficult to park anywhere other than the official carpark. A subsidised bus did run between Darlington Station and the airport for a period, no idea who paid but bet it wasn't Peel.

There is a service bus again to Darlington, it doesn't reach the terminal and again the times are poor, last bus something like 4.30pm.

Some joined up thinking required?

That's the trouble people expect an overnight fix, both the Mayor and Stobart said it would take time. At the end of the day the only potential airline in the UK is Virgin Connect when they start up later in the year, even then they'll probably get smaller before they get bigger due to the poor health of Flybe

"Baby steps" ?

Yes, but the steps need to be in the right direction. For example, is the fate of the train station the key issue facing the airport or an unnecessary (albeit publicity generating) diversion of resource?

An unnecessary diversion courtesy of the Meeja.
EMA and LTN (just to quote 2 off the top) do quite nicely with railway stations that are not on the premises. But I would suspect that travellers to most airports do not go by rail. Too limited a service - EMAs shuttle to Parkway for instance only operates 9-5, no use at all for stupid o'clock Arrivals.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-48937493

He can't be serious? I'd pay enough to cover the cost just to see that in action!

He needs to have word with Manchester - they've got some he could have cheap...

We were hoping for Ramsdens Fish and Chips.

Yeah, but they're not working either. :-)

That's a bit unfair - they do work (sometimes) 😥

Maybe if TIA manages to attract a loco or B&S flights, it , or summat similar, might be a Do'er.
BTW - as one who used the now-closed Hotel a lot in the 80s when traipsing back and forth to the Continong, are there 'plans' to do something with it?