BEN HOUCHEN: Flying high as airport goes from ‘strength to strength’

But at Teesside Airport, despite all the challenges, we continue to go from strength to strength, and the announcement last month that Ryanair would be flying again from our airport was a seismic moment.

Securing a low-cost airline was always the crucial part in our rescue plan for Teesside Airport, and less than two years after agreeing a deal to buy back our airport and saving it from closure, we have made it happen.

I want to thank our excellent team who have had a hard year but have got this over the line, making sure Ryanair understands and appreciate the potential Teesside has.

Every time I have announced new flights from our airport, people have always said to me, ‘What about a low-cost carrier? What about Ryanair?’ This is a huge vote of confidence in Teesside despite us being in the middle of a global pandemic. Our airport has withstood huge challenges before and it is doing so again, coming out the other side even stronger.

With TUI, Loganair, and now Ryanair all flying again from Teesside Airport, it's now important we improve the terminal and facilities and make sure the passenger experience is a great one and fitting for a thriving international airport.

Now we've got the flights, we can get to work on this, with new restaurants, bars, coffee shops, lounges, shopping areas, security and much more.

All of this is part of our 10-year rescue plan which will help the airport return to profit, and these new offerings will help us do that by increasing revenue at the airport.

2021 was billed as the year that the airport was closing, but instead it’s the year that it is being reborn. Our finances are on track and we have made even more progress in two years than I could have dared to dream when we bought the airport. Many people told me it couldn’t be done, but this is the biggest proof yet that we did the right thing and Teesside Airport has a great future.