Durham Tees Valley Airport (IATA: MME, ICAO: EGNV) is an international airport in north east England, located 4.7 NM (8.7 km; 5.4 mi) southeast of Darlington, about 10 mi (16 km) southwest of Middlesbrough and 24 mi (39 km) south of Durham. The airport serves County Durham, Teesside and parts of North Yorkshire, and is situated close to the village of Middleton St George in the borough of Darlington. The airport is still locally recognised by its previous name, Teesside International Airport.
Durham Tees Valley Airport is one of the United Kingdom's smaller airports, but offers links to several domestic and European destinations. The airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (number P518) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers and for flying instruction. Originally an RAF Station, the airfield became Teesside International Airport in the 1960s and was renamed Durham Tees Valley Airport in 2004. The majority shareholder in the airport is Peel Investments (DTVA) Ltd which owns 75%, while the remaining 25% is owned by a consortium of local authorities, consisting of County Durham, Darlington, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Councils.
In 2010, Vancouver Airport Services purchased a controlling 65% stake in Peel Airports Ltd and in December 2011, Peel Airports placed the airport up for sale, sparking fear of closure amongst the staff and local population. On 10th February 2012, The Peel group purchased their 75% share back under a new subsidiary, Peel Investments (DTVA) Ltd.
Passenger numbers peaked in 2006 when the airport was used by 917,963 passengers, but declined to 192,410 in 2011, the lowest level seen at the airport since 1973.
In November 2010 the airport introduced a passenger levy of £6 to curb the airport's losses.
Read more about Durham Tees Valley Airport: Passenger Levy, Airlines and Destinations, Statistics, Busiest Routes
Famous quotes containing the words valley and/or airport:
“Jugful of milk! It was yours years ago
when I lived in the valley of my bones,
bones dumb in the swamp. Little playthings.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“Airplanes are invariably scheduled to depart at such times as 7:54, 9:21 or 11:37. This extreme specificity has the effect on the novice of instilling in him the twin beliefs that he will be arriving at 10:08, 1:43 or 4:22, and that he should get to the airport on time. These beliefs are not only erroneous but actually unhealthy.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1950)