PLANE enthusiasts in the North-East say they have been shunned by Concorde.

The supersonic plane will not come to the region during its swansong tour of Britain this week.

In its last week of service, Concorde is making a tour of the country, flying into Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh - but it will not call in or even fly over the North-East.

Craig McLeod, director of Northern Aviation Group, a flying school at Teesside Airport, said: "I think it's sad. Concorde has been here in the past and I think it should have done a bit more of a tour of the country. It is quite a historic thing for the aviation community - but we have been shunned again."

Concorde last visited the region in 1996 at Newcastle Airport, and before that was at Teesside Airport in 1995.

Teesside Airport spokes-man John Waiting said: "If Concorde was to come to the North-East, it would sadly have probably gone to Newcastle Airport because British Airways operate from there, so we wouldn't really have expected it to come to Teesside.

"Nevertheless, it is disappointing that the people of the North-East will be unable to see Concorde during its final days of operation."

A spokesman for British Airways said: "We had to chose five destinations for Concorde during this last tour and we chose those that represented England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Unfortunately, we could not stop everywhere and we are going to Manchester in the north."

A fall in passenger numbers and high maintenance costs were blamed for the decision to retire the Concorde fleet.