Newcastle International Airport is an international airport in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Located approximately from Newcastle City Centre, it is the primary and busiest airport in North East England, and the second busiest in Northern England. In 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Newcastle International handled 5.2 million passengers annually.
Newcastle Airport has a Civil Aviation Authority Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P725) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.
In 2019, it was named the best airport in Europe of those serving 515million passengers annually by Airports Council International (ACI) for the second consecutive year.
Ownership
The airport is owned by seven local authorities (51%) and AMP Capital (49%). The seven local authorities are: City of Newcastle, City of Sunderland, Durham County Council, Gateshead MBC, North Tyneside MBC, Northumberland County Council, and South Tyneside MBC. In October 2012 Copenhagen Airport sold its stake in the airport to AMP Capital.
Area served
The airport mainly serves the counties of Tyne and Wear, County Durham, and Northumberland in North East England, as well as Cumbria in North West England, and the Scottish Borders area of southern Scotland. The airport competes with the smaller Teesside International Airport for passengers travelling from and to County Durham and the Teesside area of North Yorkshire. The nearest similar-sized airports are Edinburgh and Glasgow situated to the north.
History
Early years
In 1929, Newcastle-upon-Tyne City Council set up a special committee to investigate the potential for building an airport to serve the North-East of England, considering 18 locations before selecting a site at Woolsington, about northwest of the city centre. The airport was opened on 26 July 1935 as Woolsington Aerodrome by the Secretary of State for Air, Sir Phillip Cunliffe-Lister. Incorporating a clubhouse, hangar, workshops, fuel garage and grass runway, it cost £35,000 to build. The airport became the base for the Newcastle upon Tyne Flying Club, which moved from its previous home at Cramlington Aerodrome and ran the new airport on behalf of the council. On 1 June 1939, No. 43 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School, operated by Newcastle Flying Club and equipped with a mixture of de Havilland Tiger Moths, Miles Magisters and Hawker Hinds opened at Woolsington, as one of a large number of civil-operated flying schools set up to train aircrew for the RAF. The school was disbanded on 3 September 1939, with the outbreak of the Second World War.
In 1940, the airfield was occasionally used to operate detachments of Supermarine Spitfire fighters from RAF Acklington-based 72 Squadron. On 25 July that year, No. 83 Maintenance Unit RAF, tasked with recovering crashed aircraft and salvaging any usable parts, was formed at Woolsington, remaining operational until April 1946. The airfield was also used as a base for the single Tiger Moth of the Durham University Air Squadron from February 1941, and from 1942 to 1943 by detachments from No. 278 Squadron RAF, operating Westland Lysander and Supermarine Walrus in the air sea rescue role. No. 281 Squadron RAF, another air sea rescue squadron, operated from Woolsington from June to October 1943, while from November 1943 to June 1945, the airfield was used as a satellite field for No. 62 OTU, based at RAF Ouston. Woolsington was handed back to the council in 1946.
In 1967, the construction of a new runway and terminal was completed, along with an apron and a new air traffic control tower. These new additions were officially opened by the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson on 17 February 1967.
In 1978, with passenger figures approaching one million per year, the airport was designated as a regional international hub airport in the UK government's White Paper on Airports Policy, opening the way for further redevelopment; in the same decade it was re-branded as Newcastle Airport. The 1980s saw further investment in check-in, catering and duty-free shops. In 1991, Airport Metro station opened, connecting the airport with Newcastle Newcastle City Centre and Sunderland using the Tyne and Wear Metro system.
Since the 2000s
In August 2004, an extended and refurbished Departure Terminal was opened. The refurbishment included a 3,000 square metre extension with new shops, cafes and 1,200 new seats for waiting passengers.
In 2006, a record 5.4 million passengers used the airport, according to Civil Aviation Authority figures.