DURHAM Tees Valley Airport's rapid expansion has hit more than a little turbulence over the past ten years.

But yesterday, the airport once firmly labelled as second fiddle to Newcastle showed it is ready to become a major UK player.

Plans for a £56m expansion, bringing up to 2,500 jobs and £120m a year for the North-East economy, have met with widespread approval.

John Holmes, One NorthEast director of regeneration and tourism, said: "These plans will move the airport to the next level.

"It will cement its role as the gateway to the Tees Valley and the surrounding area, further boosting business and tourist travel and raising awareness of the North-East and what it has to offer visitors.

"First-class air transport links are also an essential factor for overseas. Other UK firms looking to invest in a region and the Durham Tees Valley Airport expansion would prove a major lure to inward investors and the prosperity they could bring to the region."

The terminal extension would include 30 check-in desks and baggage handling facilities on the ground floor. The first floor will have departure lounges on the first floor and four gates connecting to the aircraft stands.

There will also be nine new aircraft stands, together with new taxi way and apron facilities.

A 20,000sq m site for cargo handling and maintenance will be built at the north-east end of the site.

To the north-west, there will be an 18,600sq m business park, including a 100-bed hotel and restaurant.

Peel Airports, the company with the controlling interest in the airport, has also submitted an environmental impact assessment looking at how the development would affect traffic, noise pollution and air quality.

However, cynics may argue that the airport has been here before.

In 1995, when Teesside airport was still wholly-owned by five North-East local authorities, plans were unveiled for a £340m redevelopment.

The scheme included one of the world's largest freight villages, which was expected to create 5,000 jobs. But it hit a series of obstacles and was eventually dropped in 2001.

George Cowcher, chief executive of the North-East Chamber of Commerce, said the fact that, this time, the proposals are being led by Peel should make sure this project becomes a reality.

"We are in a position now where we have got a much more stable ownership situation," he said.

"Air transport is very important to the region as a whole and is a major economic driver. There are additional jobs dealing directly with the increased traffic and operations. But it also becomes a honey pot for other companies, who want to establish either within it, or close by.

"However, there is a big gulf between proposals and implementation."

He said the development would be vital for Durham Tees Valley if it was to compete not only with Newcastle, but the expanding Robin Hood Airport in Doncaster and Leeds Bradford Airport.

"Encouragingly, at Durham Tees Valley there is an imaginative, creative management structure, who will make sure that it stays up there with its competitors," he said.

The first flight to depart from the former wartime Canadian air force base took off in 1964 and the facility was opened by Queen Margaritha, of Sweden, in 1966.

Its first year saw 14,250 passengers use the facility. It was privatised in 1987, when the name changed to Teesside International Airport.

Peel bought a controlling share of the stock in 2003 for £500,000, after promising to invest £20m.

In 1999, the airport became embroiled in a row after regional development agency One NorthEast announced plans for Newcastle to be the hub for air passenger services, while Teesside was supposed to concentrate on freight business.

The comments sparked an outcry across the Tees Valley, and the agency later backtracked.

One NorthEast has since reaffirmed its commitment to Durham Tees Valley by investing £1.8m in a new access road at the airport, and work started on the project last March.

North Stockton MP Frank Cook, one of those who campaigned against One NorthEast's "second-string" tag for Teesside, said: "This vindicates all our efforts to ensure our airport is given the right to fulfil its true potential.

"Apart from giving local people the kind of services they need, whether for business or leisure, it can give a tremendous boost to the entire local economy.

"There have been occasions when its future seemed in doubt.

"I make no apologies for the tough line I have taken on occasions when it has been suggested that perhaps the main emphasis on airport development in the region should be concentrated elsewhere.

"It is through the efforts of many people - including our local authorities and their decision to develop a partnership with Peel Airports - that such suggestions will hopefully never arise again."