POLICE were called to a North-East airport yesterday after furious passengers were barred from leaving a plane grounded for two-and-a-half hours in heavy snow.

A man was arrested after the disturbance at Durham Tees Valley Airport, near Darlington.

Witnesses said passengers became angry after being told they could not leave the Thomson flight from Alicante, in Spain, which had been due to land at Leeds Bradford Airport at 2.25pm yesterday.

Snow in West Yorkshire meant it was diverted initially to Newcastle Airport then to Durham Tees Valley.

After waiting on the runway for two-and-a-half hours, several passengers became angry when they were told the flight would take off and try to land at Newcastle.

The aircrew said buses would take people back to Leeds, but the passengers pointed out Durham Tees Valley Airport was 30 miles closer to West Yorkshire than Newcastle.

Darlington police said they arrested a man for disruptive behaviour after being alerted by staff.

But passengers backed the man’s stance last night.

Gary Corner, 51, from Thirsk, North Yorkshire, was returning from a holiday in Spain with his father.

He said: “My dad is 82 years old and he is disabled, but we were stuck on board for over two hours. People wanted off, but they were refused.

“Stewards told us if we didn’t sit down they would call the police.

“One guy was taken off, they were trying to make an example of him.

“He wasn’t in the wrong at all. He was within his rights to ask to get off.

“Thomson knew what the weather was like before we set off. Why didn’t they offer us hotel accommodation here, or let us stay in Alicante for another night?”

Another passenger said: “It was dangerous. We were stuck on board, and another two planes landed right next to us.

It was that icy, they could have skidded into us.”

Inspector Neil Edgar, from Darlington police, said: “The plane was on the ground at the time and there was no risk to passengers.

“People got frustrated and one man became vociferous.

I’m sure it wasn’t very nice for the passengers.”

The arrested man was due to be questioned at Darlington police station last night.

Officials eventually allowed passengers to leave at about 5pm.

A spokesman for Thomson said: “Initially, the flight was diverted to Newcastle due to bad weather. However, en route, the airport was closed and the flight had to be diverted again to Durham Tees Valley airport.

“The airline intended to fly customers back to Newcastle airport, once it had reopened, to ensure passengers could be transferred to Leeds Bradford more quickly.

“However, passengers became disruptive onboard the aircraft while at Durham Tees Valley airport and in the interest of safety, the pilot decided to disembark customers. In accordance with the airline’s standard procedures, the pilot notified the police.

“Thomson Airways would like to apologise again for any inconvenience caused.”

The flight was one of several diverted to DTVA after heavy snow affected both Leeds Bradford and Newcastle airports.

DTVA was closed earlier in the day because of the snow and ice.

On the trains, East Coast operated a revised timetable, although the majority of its normal weekday services were still running.

Experts last night predicted that a day of severe snow will cost the North-East economy as much as £22m.

Insurance company RSA warned that, with the bad weather expected to continue for another three weeks, the region’s economic output could be affected by as much as £470m.

Ross Smith, head of policy and research at the North East Chamber of Commerce, said: “It’s obviously not a great start to the year weather-wise and that’s had an impact on business.

“On a positive note, companies have invested in technology that allows people to work from home or other offices, so the impact might not be as great as five or ten years ago.”

Were you the arrested man from Hartlepool or do you know who it is? Call Joe Willis on 01325-505067.