Teesside Airshow: Probe into traffic to be released 'in days'

Drivers were stuck for several hours in queues around Teesside Airport with some forced to turn around and go home – missing all the action. Some even abandoned their cars in a bid to watch the Red Arrows from the roadside while people with suitcases could be seen walking from Mill Lane.

Now it’s been confirmed a full investigation into the shortcomings is being conducted by Teesside Airport director Phil Forster – with its findings due in days. An initial 5,600 parking spaces were set aside for the event – with the event and traffic management plan earmarking an extra 1,900 as a contingency measure.

Read more: Teesside Airshow traffic was so bad we gave up and drove 100 miles back home

But the number of spaces and the wider road network simply couldn’t cope with the demand on the day. A document seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service shows how an organiser, a Durham Police official, and officials from Darlington and Stockton Councils all discussed traffic management for the airshow at a safety meeting in March.

The organiser confirmed the traffic plans would “reflect those from 2016” – with no extra public transport put on, parking tickets purchased in advance or at the gate, and stewards “briefed to keep traffic flowing”. It’s understood discussions were had on traffic management, with a Darlington official suggesting the organiser to contact Arriva about buses.

It’s understood he also added there was the potential to approach other coach firms to use for drop-offs. However, the public safety advisory group eventually agreed “no further meetings were required” before the airshow itself.

At the weekend, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen apologised for the delays and said there would be “a full review and debrief as a matter of urgency”. Organisers Skylive Air also apologised to every person hit by the delays – saying it employed a professional traffic management firm, and had held meetings with Stockton Council, Darlington Council, and Police in the run up to the event.

The company added: “The traffic management plan in place was fully signed off by everyone. Clearly something went wrong – and we will fully investigate to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” The firm said it was looking into how to give refunds to those who didn’t get to the show due to the tailbacks.

On Monday, Chris Petty, from Skylive Air, said he hoped more information on refunds would be released in the coming days following the findings of the investigation. He also said the firm would co-operate fully with Mr Forster’s review – which he added would be made public.

Saturday’s airshow was the first at Teesside for five years. Teesside Airport said the airshow had “been a victim of its own success” with more than 20,000 people visiting the show.

Asked whether Skylive Air had the experience and expertise to manage an event this size, Mr Petty believed they did. He added: “We have managed the previous two airshows and numerous other events around the region.”

When it came to whether a park and ride facility was considered, Mr Petty said it was – referring to the Darlington official’s comments at the March meeting. He added: “The last thing members of the public want is a lack of ownership and buck passing between councils, police and the organisers – but everyone involved needs to take responsibility.”

The Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) contributed £100,000 towards the airshow – with £20,000 put towards the event initially cancelled due to the pandemic in 2020, and £80,000 granted from its culture and tourism budget. Officials also said the organisers paid £50,000 to hold the event at publicly-owned Teesside Airport.

Asked a raft of questions on what had gone wrong, the TVCA said it was not involved in the organisation or the running of the event. A spokesman added: “We will work with the organisers, the police and Stockton and Darlington Councils, who agreed the event plan, over the coming days to set out the timescales.

“The mayor has requested this be concluded quickly and all information is made public.” When it came to whether the combined authority would work with Skylive Air again, TVCA officials said they would wait to make a decision.

Traffic on the A67 Picture: JIM SCOTT

The spokesman added: “We would like to see the outcome of the investigation to understand how and why these plans were agreed between the organisers, the Police and Stockton and Darlington Councils before commenting further on this.”

Read more: Teesside Airshow: Ryanair Majorca passengers had to walk along A67

It’s understood Stockton Council only has responsibility for a small sliver of road on the airport site. A council spokesperson said: “This event was held in Darlington and organised by a private company, Skylive Air, which also employed a private company to handle the event’s traffic management.

“The event plan was reviewed by Darlington’s Independent Advisory Safety Group (ISAG). Of course, we fed into the ISAG process alongside a number of organisations and like the organiser has said, something has clearly gone wrong on the day.

“The organiser has also apologised and said it is investigating what went wrong.”

A Darlington Borough Council spokesman said both the event organiser and the traffic management company hired by the organiser were responsible for delivering the event safely and effectively.

He added: “An event management plan – including traffic management plans – was prepared based on their previous experience of organising events. This plan was reviewed through the independent safety advisory group, which includes representatives from various public bodies.

“Sadly, as we saw on Saturday, something went badly wrong when it came to the way those plans were carried out by the event organiser and the traffic management company. The safety advisory group will carry out a review of the event with the organiser to understand their view of why their plans did not cope and to ensure lessons are learned for any future event.”

A spokesman for Durham Police said: “We became aware of severe congestion on the roads surrounding the airport during Saturday’s event and sent officers to the scene to help alleviate those problems.

“We would welcome the opportunity for further talks with the event organisers to discuss the operation of their traffic management plan.”

Tyneside-based Hatton Traffic Management Ltd was the company employed to manage traffic at the airshow. The firm declined to comment when contacted.