NEW ROUTES from Teesside International have been announced this morning, marking exactly one year after the airport was brought into public ownership.

LIVE: Ben Houchen announces new flights for the airport

Today, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen declared that a host of new flights will run from the airport, including multiple daily connections to Dublin and Belfast City, with the airline operator signing up to a three-year commitment to Teesside International.

The announcement comes exactly one-year on from the special cabinet meeting where the Mayor and five local authority leaders agreed to purchase the airport, bringing it into the hands of the public.

The new routes are the most significant announcement since the rebrand back to Teesside International last summer and will represent a major milestone in the airport’s ten-year rescue plan.

The Northern Echo:

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, centre

Mr Houchen said: “Exactly one-year to the day since I secured the long-term future of our airport and saved it from closure, I am delighted to announce we’ve secured a host of new routes, including flights to Dublin and Belfast which I know will be hugely popular with people across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.

“We only got the keys to the airport in March, and I pledged to introduce ten extra routes by 2022.

"Fast-forward ten months and we are on the right track to reach that target well before anyone expected us to do so.

“The people of Teesside have told me time and time again they want our airport to succeed. This includes bringing back the first European holiday flights in five years last summer. These flights, to Majorca and Bulgaria, are proving to be very popular and a record number of people love our Amsterdam flight and its global links.

The Northern Echo:

“These additional routes I am announcing today will make our airport go from strength to strength.”

Stobart Aviation’s Kate Willard said: “I’m really excited to be working with this airline partner to bring brilliant new routes to Teesside International.

"They’ll offer even more options for people to destinations across the UK and Ireland and show how far we’ve come in such a short space of time.

“Stobart is dedicated to seeing this airport become a flying success. This is an ambition shared by this airline provider, and it’s fantastic they are now working with us to realise the potential of Teesside International.”

The announcement follows the well-received holiday trips to Bulgaria with Balkan Holidays, which has confirmed a second summer season in 2020, and JetsGoHolidays’ direct flights to Majorca from next summer.

The airport continues to serve more than 200 worldwide destinations via its three daily services to the Amsterdam Schiphol airport.