Newcastle Airport has been named the best in the UK and Ireland after the busy summer season.

The airport, near Ponteland, is estimated to have welcomed more than 3.5 million passengers over the summer.

It was handed the gong for ‘UK and Irish Airport of the Year 2024’ at the Travel Industry Awards, one of the sector’s most respected accolades.

The airport was praised for its customer service, operational excellence and commitment to supporting trade.

Nick Jones, Chief Executive at Newcastle Airport said: “We are delighted to be named UK and Irish Airport of the Year by the Travel Trade Gazette.

“This is a tremendous achievement for our entire team and partners, who work tirelessly to ensure we continue to deliver a world-class experience for our passengers and maintain the highest standards across all areas of our business.”

It comes after a busy summer season with holidaymakers jetting off to destinations across Europe, Africa and Asia.

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New offerings this summer included Cape Verde and Sharm el Sheikh, with traditional tourist hotspots in Spain having up to 93 flights a week.

The airport said it spent £20m improving the terminal ahead of the summer season, including new eateries, improvements to its lounge and upgrades to security with new scanners, with 98% of passengers passing through security in less than 10 minutes this year so far.

This week Jet2 confirmed new routes to Morocco, Preveza in Greece, Porto in Portugal and Barcelona, which will take off in summer 2026.