TEESSIDE airport, now back in public ownership, has made its first profit since 2012.

It is only £300,000, which is but a drop in the ocean, given that the airport cost £40m to acquire and has lost at least the same amount since 2019 when it was taken over by Ben Houchen’s Tees Valley Combined Authority.

However, it is a move into the black, which is to be welcomed, even though the airport’s statement about the future of the industry suggests clouds and turbulence ahead – little wonder, because the pandemic has changed the way we holiday and global warming is making some European destinations look too warm to be welcoming.

There are, rightly, bound to be questions about how much public money is going into the airport and how transparent it all is.

But we should also go back to 2017 when Mr Houchen first promised to take the airport away from its private owners. That pledge was popular with local people because they did not want to see another vast housing estate built across the airport’s land if it failed and also because they were proud to see their area’s name promoted by the airport.

Mr Houchen talks about the airport being a crucial piece of “economic infrastructure”, attracting investment to the area. That may well be the case, but it seems very difficult to work out precisely how much investment, so that you can weigh it against the airport’s losses.

However, if the airport can continue to wipe its face financially, the urgency of those questions will diminish. It is a big step for this airport to be back in profit; its next big step is to keep it going.