GORDON BROWN heaped praise on The Northern Echo’s Keep the Region Flying campaign yesterday – describing flights from Durham Tees Valley airport to Heathrow as “incredibly important”.

Speaking in the Commons, the Prime Minister said he recognised that rescuing an air link to the capital was crucial to the future of the North-East economy. And he said talks later this month with Aviation Minister Jim Fitzpatrick were an opportunity for the campaign to be taken to the heart of government.

Mr Brown spoke out after bmi’s decision to axe its three daily flights from Durham Tees Valley airport to Heathrow was raised in Prime Minister’s Questions by Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson.

The airline has blamed the high landing charges demanded by Heathrow’s owner, BAA, as its main reason for ending the service, on March 29. The Keep the Region Flying campaign is highlighting how those costs are making many airlines increasingly reluctant to run short-haul flights from the UK regions to the capital’s international passenger hubs.

In addition, the Government is coming under pressure to protect slots for domestic flights into London airports, by imposing a public service obligation (PSO).

Asked about the loss of flights from Durham Tees Valley to Heathrow, Mr Brown told MPs: “Regional airports are incredibly important to the economy of all parts of this country. “I recognise the importance of domestic air services to London airports for the economy of the North-East and for every other regional economy in the country. “I want to congratulate my honourable friend and The Northern Echo on its campaign, and I understand the Minister for Aviation has agreed to meet my honourable friend to discuss these issues.”

Turning to the controversy of Heathrow expansion – opposed by the Conservatives – the Prime Minister added: “In the long term, I have to say that increasing capacity at Heathrow should help maintain and grow domestic air services.”

Speaking later, a delighted Mr Wilson said: “I was over the moon to hear what the Prime Minister said. It shows the Government is committed to the North of England. “Bmi has taken a commercial decision to withdraw flights, but there are the issues of the capacity at Heathrow and the cost of flying there. “In the meeting, I will be asking the minister’s position on getting PSOs on flights from Durham Tees Valley and about a dual-price regime which would be different for international and domestic flights.

“At the moment, it costs just as much to land a small plane from Durham as it does to land a jumbo jet. That’s a poll tax on wings.”

Mr Brown’s intervention yesterday will focus attention on the meeting with Mr Fitzpatrick on March 24. Airport bosses and other MPs, including Hilary Armstrong (North- West Durham) and Frank Cook (Stockton North), are expected to attend.

Mr Wilson also criticised Lord Bates of Langbaurgh, a deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, for “talking down the future” of the airport in a recent interview on Northern Decisionmakers, The Northern Echo’s internet TV programme.

In the interview, the former Teesside MP questioned whether the North-East could support two major airports, given the proximity of the sites at Durham Tees Valley (DTV) and Newcastle.

But, yesterday, Lord Bates appeared to backtrack, insisting he was passionate about transport links to the North- East and that he had simply been “trying to move the debate on”.

He said: “As someone who used DTV weekly when I was an MP, the bmi service was absolutely fantastic. “I am not proposing closure of the airport, but I am trying to move the debate on by asking how can we have a sustainable air infrastructure. “We do need to ask what are the Government’s investment plans for regional airports and how we can attract flights when operators like bmi have limited landing slots at Heathrow and are asking whether they use them for links to the regions or to the US or Asia.”

Mr Brown’s comments were welcomed by Hugh Lang, group airports director at Peel Airports, which owns the airport. He said: “It is obviously good news that the Prime Minister has made clear his recognition that airports, and air services to London, are incredibly important to regional economies such as the North-East.

“We are also pleased that the Aviation Minister has agreed to meet with local members of parliament to discuss their concerns on the impact of issues such as the punitive charges at Heathrow, which bmi has made clear was a critical factor in its decision to reduce its domestic programme, including the service from Durham Tees Valley.”

James Ramsbotham, the chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce, said: “We are delighted that Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson has raised this vital issue in the House of Commons and that the Prime Minister is taking it seriously.”

MP Hague: Loss of flights from site is big setback to the region

THE loss of regular flights from the Tees Valley to London has been described as a big setback by the deputy leader of the Conservative Party, William Hague.

The Richmond MP, whose North Yorkshire constituency is only a few minutes’ drive from Durham Tees Valley Airport, was speaking in the week that his deputy party chairman, Lord Michael Bates of Langbaurgh, caused consternation among Labour MPs by questioning whether the North-East – which is also served by Newcastle Airport – was big enough to sustain two airports.

Mr Hague, who has set up a North of England transport commission, said airline bmi’s decision to cut its three daily flights from Durham Tees Valley from March 29 was a big setback.

He said: “People in North Yorkshire and the North-East need to be able to travel internationally, and that means you need regional airports which feed into international hubs or are themselves international hubs.

“We are paying the price of excessive concentration on Heathrow, which has made landing slots so expensive that regional airports are getting shut out. Now if you live in Stockton, for example, it is much harder to fly to America because you cannot make that connection at Heathrow.”

Several North-East Labour MPs, led by Sedgefield’s Phil Wilson, have argued that the fate of the Durham flights is proof that Heathrow needs a third runway to reduce the cost of landing slots.

But Mr Hague said: “Our opposition to a third runway at Heathrow is partly because we want regional airports to succeed rather than people always thinking about the London airports."