Airport sees rise in passengers

Durham Tees Valley Airport saw a 16% increase in passenger numbers in March compared to the same period in 2007.

New figures from the airport, near Darlington, showed 46,000 passengers passed through the airport last month - with low-cost flights the most popular.

The airport said there had been an increase in the number of passengers wanting to travel to sunnier parts of Europe to escape bad weather in the UK.

A spokeswoman said low-cost carriers were expected to spearhead growth.

She said: "The airport continues to provide the local community with a range of destinations and services for both the business and leisure markets and there's no doubt the recent bad weather has helped to attract local passengers."

She added that April was expected to see even greater growth with new routes to Spain, Portugal and Jersey.