AIRPORTS in the North-East successfully coped with the Bank Holday weekend rush of passengers.

Fears of a knock-on from the threatened baggage handlers' dispute and a backlog of flights diminished last week, and the weekend appeared last nght to have gone smoothly at both Newcastle and Teesside international airports.

Newcastle handled about 70,000 passengers on 305 flights to and from 57 destinatons over the weekend.

An estimated 13,000 passengers passed through Teesside on 70 flights to and from 20 worldwide destinations.

Bosses at Newcastle airport said it capped what is believed to have been their busiest week on record, but the newly extended facilities proved their worth.

Duty manager Paul Barrow said: "Obviously, we have just opened the new extension, doublng the available floor-space.

"It has given us enough space to deal wth the volumes we are now getting and it has been pretty trouble-free so far over the weekend."

The airport expects nearly three million passengers to pass through the new-look terminal during the summer season - from May to October - a 22 per cent rise on last year.

Commercial manager Richard Whitehouse said the weekend business was a rough 50/50 split between scheduled and charter flights.

"The industrial action was not likely to impact upon us and it has been among our busier weekends."

Due to be re-named Durham Tees Valley next month, the airport hopes it will help to build on an anticipated ten per cent increase in passenger numbers.