RED-FACED airport bosses hardly got a new era off to a flying start when they confused Durham Cathedral with another place of worship thousands of miles away.

Durham Tees Valley Airport came into existence in a blaze of publicity last week, with tourist chiefs hailing it as an exciting new beginning for North-East aviation.

But a glossy brochure highlighting the benefits of the name change from Teesside International Airport had the region's sun-seekers scratching their heads in bewilderment.

In an article entitled Majorca Magic, the Flightlines magazine carried an image of Durham Cathedral with the caption "Impressive: Palma's Cathedral".

Despite the piece singing the praises of Palma's "abundant attractions and breathtaking scenery", the structure standing tall above the trees was unmistakably the stuff of North-East legend.

One eagle-eyed reader said: "I had to look twice, but it's clearly Durham Cathedral. It's such a famous scene."

Airport chiefs admitted that a printing error was responsible for one of the region's most treasured landmarks being confused with the Gothic building on the Spanish island.

Commercial manager Richard Whitehouse said: "A story on Durham County Council's backing for the airport re-branding and a story on a tour operator's flights to Palma were sent through together.

"The wrong caption was put to the photo of the cathedral and we have had quite a few phone calls about it.

"We'd like to think Durham's is better, but obviously they are both very impressive cathedrals."

Durham Tees Valley Airport was launched on Tuesday, with a host of exciting developments lined up for the next five years.

Up to £50m could be invested in the site, near Darlington, and thousands of jobs created in the process.

The airport, at Middleton St George, presently handles 700,000 passengers a year.

However, the radical expansion plans mean it could be welcoming three million by 2015.