Teesside Airport Ahead of Plan as EBITDA Losses Fall to £2Million

Teesside International Airport has today revealed its annual financial results -reporting a significant reduction in losses.

Almost five years to the day that Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen struck a deal with former owners Peel to bring the airport back into public control, accounts show the airport’s EBITDA loss for 2022/23 was £2.26million down from £9.03million in 2021/22 and ahead of the forecasted business plan which predicted losses of £5.04million for 2022/23.

The improved financial performance is ahead of the airport’s business plan and came after revenues doubled to more than £15million during the year.

Just days before the start of the reporting period, in March 2022, Government announced that it was scrapping the remaining international Covid-19 travel restrictions. This helped begin the recovery of the UK aviation industry after the Airport Operators Association outlined how airports had lost £10billion in revenue in 2021 due to the pandemic.

During 2022/23, considerable progress was made on the airport’s land and assets. The airport’s cargo handling facility opened for operation in August 2022, aviation services firm Draken doubled its fleet thanks to a new hangar and Willis Lease Finance Corporation’s £25million cutting-edge aircraft maintenance facility was officially approved and is set to bring up to 300 jobs.

The airport also doubled its flights with TUI to Majorca, with the company launching its Antalya flight for the first time in more than a decade, ahead of its Dalaman service coming in 2024. KLM also reintroduced its three-times daily service to Amsterdam and Teesside became the first airport in the UK to scrap the 100ml liquid restrictions at security thanks to scanner upgrades.

In the months since the end of March 2023, the airport has celebrated its best year for passengers in 11 years, work has finished on the first unit and link road for its £200million Business Park South and it has been named UK and Irish Airport of the Year 2023 in the TTG Travel Awards among other successes.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “These figures show that the airport is on course to meet its turnaround plan and it’s a further demonstration that I was right to secure a deal to bring it back into public ownership. Let’s not forget, if I hadn’t, it would now be closed, jobs would have been lost, our connection with the rest of the world would have gone and the site replaced with a housing estate.

“We know international investors arrive through an airport terminal, not a bus, and the wider knock-on effects for the economy of Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool are clear to see. Recent major investors into our area – including those at Teesworks – have named the airport as one of the key reasons they made the decision to come to our area.

“Without the airport, we also wouldn’t have millions upon millions of pounds being invested in Sustainable Aviation Fuel by numerous companies, helping to put the region front-and-centre leading the world in a cleaner aviation industry.

“With the Airport Business Park ready and raring to go, I’ve no doubt it’s onward and upward for Teesside Airport.”

Teesside International Airport Managing Director Phil Forster said: “These figures are encouraging, being a 78% drop in losses on the previous year, but we’re not out of the woods yet.

“2022 was about putting in place the building blocks of future sustainability, and now we can start reaping the rewards. Our Business Park South is ready to welcome new tenants, boosting our revenue, Willis’ expansion can begin in earnest – creating up to 300 jobs – and we’re in very exciting talks to welcome other new tenants to our site.

“We’re also looking at new opportunities, partnering with SSE Energy Solutions on a huge solar farm to make us and our tenants self-sufficient for green energy.

“It hasn’t been easy saving a failing airport from a standing start – and in the face of a global pandemic – and slowly but surely we’re creating an airport to be proud of once again.”