THE owners of a North-East airport have assured passengers that it has a long-term future.

Peel Airports, which owns Durham Tees Valley Airport, has dismissed reports that suggest it might struggle to survive the recession.

At the weekend, the BBC reported that the Airport Operators Association (AOA) reported that half the number of passengers used Durham Tees Valley in February compared with the same period last year.

But Peel Airports has said although passenger numbers are down, Durham Tees Valley’s figures are no worse than the majority of other regional airports.

The group called for a budget that reflected the problems faced by smaller airports.

The call comes after bmi withdrew its service from Durham Tees Valley, blaming the move on higher charges at Heathrow.

This Easter weekend saw about 5,000 passengers pass through Durham Tees Valley airport.

The AOA said overall passenger figures were down by 15 per cent across the country and has blamed budget carriers for squeezing costs.

However, airlines have blamed extra charges for the fall in traveller numbers.

Neil Pakey, from the AOA, said: “There’s no doubt about it, most budgets haven’t been met.

“What it has done is made airports more inventive than they have been before, bringing in new types of projects, the fast-lane initiative through security or priority lane is just one of those, these are designed not to be mandatory in most cases, but to give the passengers additional choice.”

A Peel Airports spokesman said: “It is true that all sections of the air transport industry are feeling the impact of the current economic situation – in the case of Durham Tees Valley, total passenger numbers fell by 12 per cent last year, similar to the level of reduction experienced at a number of regional airports, including, for example, Newcastle.

“However Peel Airports remains confident in the long-term potential of Durham Tees Valley and the strong support it enjoys from its customers.

“If the future of regional airports and the services they provide is to be secured through the current recession, the industry needs a budget that recognises the scale of the problems and provides support, rather than increasing the financial burdens.”

These concerns have been raised with Air Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick by a number of local MPs, including the Minister for the North-East, Nick Brown. The umbrella body for the UK’s 72 airports will set out the industry’s woes in a letter to Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon later this week.

TheAOA is expected to predict an 18 per cent fall in profits prompted by a ten per cent reduction in passenger numbers.

David Bishop, the association’s head of policy, said: “Several airports are already making a loss and more will become loss-making as the year progresses. The financial situation is grim.”

Regional airports will be particularly badly affected, with Newcastle, Humberside and Exeter airports expecting falls of 19 per cent, 18 per cent and 24 per cent respectively, compared with 2007.