Yes there's demand, but the question is whether there is enough demand to support a profitable business. I find it hard to believe that airport mismanagement forced lots of profitable routes to be dropped.

Curiously there has been no mention of the muddle in the mix that is Stobart Aviation.

There hasn't been for a long time...

Let me assure you mismanagement/apathy had alot to do with routes going and not being replaced.
There are obviously some on here who hate to see MME do well/grow.
What most tend to forget is that a pax operation is just one of many strings to the airports bow.
The whole of Teesside/Tees Valley is seeing investment at the moment so why cant the airport be in a position to take advantage?

Regarding subsidies get over it. Local government and national government give subsidies and incentives in many different industries. Why can't the mayor do it at the airport. As long as no laws regarding them are being broken.
if you want it at NCL or LBA lobby your local councillors or MPs. The Mayor put his manifesto out there and as far as I can see he was voted in on it and is trying to keep his promises!
The demand is there they just have to get the right fit.

SWBKCB, the demand has always been there. When it was announced that Peel were "given" the airport many of us said that would be the end. Peel wanted the land and did their best to close the airport. They ran the place down from the word go.
The 2008 crash saw aviation shrink by 12%, Teesside shrank by over 80% in pax alone. Peel told the largest charter airline in Europe to get lost!! How much more evidence do you need? If FRA/FPL, a strong corporate base and various other assets hadn't been there the airport would have gone under.
The Mayor is turning the airport around, he is not an aviation specialist. How come Peel couldn't with a department that ran airports and far deeper pockets? They didn't want to!! We are lucky to have someone who believes in the airport, puts his money where his mouth is and has the success of the region at heart. Power to his elbow!!!

All airports with sub-1million pax were far closer to the 80% if not worse than us, look at Blackpool, Coventry, Manston. The airport telling TUI to get lost is a very cynical way of phrasing it and the subsequent improvement in financial position proved it to be the correct thing to do, and if TUI were less than understanding they wouldn't have been ready to return with a based aircraft before the Mayor blocked the subsidy funding, nor would Loganair have been ready to expand to the kind of operation they're coming back with. All this said, if the Mayor doesn't start advertising these services properly, it's all in vain anyway.

Ah, see we are fighting old battles rather than looking forward?

If Peel wanted to close the airport from the word go, they didn't do a very good job of it - all they had to do was p*ss of KLM and give FRA an offer they couldn't refuse to move to DSA. Wasn't it Peel that brought in Baby and Globespan? Weak companies, but that tells its own story. Nobody else dived in when they went.

As for the land, plenty of land at MME without closing the airport. Why go to the trouble of closing the airport, which wouldn't endear any planning applications to the LA's? It's not as if Teesside is short of alternative brownfield sites, but only one with a runway. Even the Mayor is looking to do the same to the Southside as Peel was after. Look at LPL - why didn't Peel replicate that if the market conditions where there?

In any recession, airlines retreat to their stongholds and the marginal bases go (look at EZY this year). Don't forget that the north-east is one of the countries poorest areas. Newcastle has never got back to 2007 levels, even with MME's decline - EDI and LBA have grown greatly, but they are in richer areas.

Baffling, but only one flight a week. Cock-up more likely than conspiracy. It was also Peel that got Balkan back in...

Well, easier to spend somebody elses money rather than your own. I've got reservation about the the Eastern/Loganair conumdrum and the London adventures, but the airport is moving in the right direction and the Mayor is to be applauded for that.

So what are the dangers? Worst case is that the Mayor is pursuing a popular policy for election purposes and once he moves onto bigger and better things, interest will wane and Teesside will be left with a white elephant airport that never earns it's keep. Maybe the region would have been better spending that money elsewhere on projects that provided fewer photo opportunities.

A broad range of operators and destinations, an increasing diverse range of businesses on the airport and making best use of the land available (doesn't this sound like Peel's last Masterplan?) is what the airport needs - but all of that needs a hell a lot of money, all I'm questioning is whether there is enough business there to make it sustainable, and whether it's the best use of public money.

Again many words posted today but still no mention of Stobart Aviation...curious.

I was just going to say something similar! I got pulled up just yesterday for voicing my disenchantment at how 95% of people feel like they've been proven right and are laughing their heads off which is not an accurate reflection of the truth, I was told; "If Peel is still a topic on social media then that says it all about such platforms".

I'm not supposed to get involved in these discussions due to my interests in the Friends of the Airport, however that group would not have been able to maintain a healthy and stable membership throughout the Peel era if they didn't believe the airport was going to continue on long term, we're not a bunch of brainwashed enthusiasts as some would have people believe, but rather smart, intelligent and successful businessmen at the helm, and we have seen lot's of things that simply do not support a planned closure.

If more flights do appear the airport will need to invest money into the airfield. Stands are short at the moment, triggers broom snow clearing equipment could be embarrassing and then there's the CAT I airfield which the neighbouring airfields upgraded years ago.

You are right about investment being needed.
Although the stand situation isnt that bad. Firstly if you re going by the movement sites say so, I believe they themselves say what it 'could' be. I'm sure Eastern wont be running LHR and LCY. It'll be one or the other. The J41s are small and may be able to be doubled up on the larger stands and there are plenty of stands else where and there is almost 2hrs between 1st flight out and last of the first wave according to the movement site so you can do cold moves from a remote stand to the main apron.
Yes the snow clearance has been an issue in the past but I'm not sure of the situation currently. Is CAT 2/3 really needed? It would be nice. Admittedly the fog is has been worse since the Tees barrage was installed. It isn't that bad and doesn't suffer the weather issue it southern neighbour encounters.

Surely there are more options other than extra flights. I think I am right to say that there was a perfectly good outfit that resprayed aircraft, Tarom used them for their BAC 111 fleet. I know Peel kept on about their master plan, I am not sure what they achieved. Did they put their hands in their pockets for the link road to the A66?
Robert-Ryan is right, the new routes need to be advertised, as Jet2 did, plenty of buses running around Teesside. The reasons why TUI left are not clear but they did have a 737-800 based at MME, surely it was not for lack of demand.