Annual Review
Statistics
Passenger Figures
Looking back at the business plan published in January 2019, the intention was to increase passenger numbers "ten fold" by attracting a low cost carrier and gaining 10 new routes within a four year timeframe. Whilst we have attracted a low cost carrier, and if we totted up the routes gained and lost since the takeover it probably would equal or exceed 10 - because many of those routes have since been axed we cannot claim to have achieved this, and whilst passenger numbers have grown at an appropriate rate, it certainly hasn't been "ten fold".
Later in the plan more specifics are provided with three scenarios in play, an "organic" modest forecast - where passenger numbers remain at similar levels to 2018, and a second "seasonal scenario" where passenger numbers rise to about 370,000 by 2027 and a third "low cost carrier" scenario is the ambitious vision with the highest numbers touted. It later aspires to £1.5m pax per annum by the end of the 10-year turnaround plan, which is presumably the "low cost carrier" scenario. We are clearly currently operating to the "seasonal scenario".
The average Ryanair load factor in peak summer was 96% according to their website, our four routes whilst strong performers fall significantly short of this.
Click Here to access our monthly passenger figure coverage.
Visitor Statistics
Of the eight easyJet scrappers, only G-EZBC/E had visited previously during the year on crew training details. No doubt courtesy of Ukraine, we had a significantly increased number of military charters throughout the year:
| Atlantic Airways | A20N | |
| Eastern Airways | E170 | x2 |
| Enter Air | B738 | x4 |
| Jettime | B737 | x3 |
| Jettime | B738 | |
| KlasJet | B733 | |
| Maleth-Aero | A332 | x3 |
| Royal Air Force | A332 | |
| Royal Norwegian Air Force | C30J | x2 |
| SAS Scandinavian Airlines | A320 | x3 |
| SAS Scandinavian Airlines | B737 | |
| Smartwings | B738 | |
| TUI fly Belgium | B738 |
Visits by one-time 'flagship' GLF6 N288Z are getting fewer and farther between, you have to wonder how much longer it will grace our airfield. Great to see a C750 visit during the year, the demise of this type is unfathomable. We had one first-of-type visitor in the form of Airbus H160 M-SKTO, the cutting edge design is replacing both the AS365 Dauphin and H155 in the Airbus product line.
Click here to view our annual visitor statistics
Resident Statistics
June saw resident PA-28 G-TSGJ move out to Fishburn, this is significant not only because the syndicate was based here for 41 years (with G-BCGJ from 1982-1988), but also because that's now five private owners moved out citing no hangarage in under two years (plus a further five for unrelated reasons). Often, members of the based GA community will respond to airport-related social media posts by the Mayor to question why no hangarage is being provided for GA, to which he replies private owners are "not willing to pay rent" otherwise the airport would build something for them. In this age of fact-checking politicians, let us be absolutely clear:- the resident GA community are perfectly willing to pay rent, they did so for 57 years and five have left to do exactly that! In the interests of a balanced discussion, there is likely a gulf between what the airport considers to be a fair rent and what the average recreational pilot considers to be a fair rent, and their claims that they kept the airport alive during the dark times is not correct - Draken performed that role. From my (CS) own conversations with management as I've fought GAs corner over recent months it is clear there are valid reasons why it will become increasingly difficult to accomodate GA in the coming years, however, 1) let the pilots come to that realisation on their own - why are we expediting the process? 2) Why can behemoths like Schiphol and JFK etc accommodate such traffic but we can't? And 3) those valid reasons affect circuit training more than recreational flying i.e. the flying schools who have been largely unaffected rather than the private owners. Speaking to Ken Large, he is desperate to come back to Teesside, Bagby is too far for him to travel and his vintage aircraft needs constant attention and cannot afford to be out in the elements. The owners of G-BCPG have the best attitude, they have no bitterness towards the airport and are only too happy to see the airport progressing even if that comes at the expense of the little guy, they understand that recreational GA is at the bottom of the food chain. But being bottom of the food chain shouldn't mean you're any less loved.
One superb and extraordinary statistic during the year is the attention the Draken L159s have been getting. They are consistently in the worldwide top 10 most tracked flights on FR24, often claiming the #1 spot! Whenever they go out, all eyes are on them - and by extension Teesside - and it's something daft like that which puts us on the map!
| 2023 Stats | Rolling Stats | |||||||
| Dec 22 | Dec 23 | % +/- | Jan 10 | Dec 23 | % +/- | |||
| Active | 40 | 34 | -15.0% | 41 | 34 | -17.1% | ||
| PWFU / Stored | 11 | 22 | +100.0% | 08 | 22 | +175.0% | ||
| Totals | 51 | 56 | +9.8% | 49 | 56 | +14.3% | ||