THE number of passengers using the North-East's two airports has almost trebled since 1990, a report reveals.

Figures published yesterday show Newcastle and Durham Tees Valley have enjoyed soaring success along with other regional airports around the country.

The biggest growth has been in scheduled services to Europe, where the 1993 "open skies" policy has led to the rise of low-fare airlines.

A report from the Civil Aviation Authority said the rises were the result of regional airports adopting a more commercial approach and actively seeking business.

Since 1990, the total number of passengers at the North-East's two airports has risen by 186 per cent, from 1.9 million to 5.5 million - from 1.6 million to 4.7 million at Newcastle, and 300,000 to 800,000 at Durham Tees Valley.

In the same period, international scheduled routes from the two airports rose from five to 18 - 15 of which are from Newcastle.

Chris Sanders, aviation manager of Newcastle, the fifth biggest regional airport in terms of passenger numbers, said last night he was delighted with the report.

He said: "We are very pleased that the role of regional airports in developing direct international air services has been recognised, along with the econo- mic benefits such air services can bring to the region."

Most of Newcastle's increase in international scheduled services has been in the past three years, to destinations such as Budapest, Berlin, Barcelona and Geneva with easyJet, while today, Ryan- air starts a daily service to Milan.

Hugh Lang, Durham Tees Valley Airport managing director, said: "Not only has Durham Tees Valley grown significantly since 1990, we also anticipate that this will continue.

"While 2004 was the busiest in the airport's history, in 2005 we have already seen the commencement of daily services to Rome, announced new direct services to Paris and Cork which start in March and also submitted plans to expand the airport to be able to handle up to three million passengers by 2015."