THE Big Apple can offer a passport to more international services in the region, a senior airport boss has claimed.

David Laws, Newcastle International Airport’s chief executive, said its flights to New York could help bring millions of pounds into the site and support thousands of jobs.

United Airlines will begin operating transatlantic services between Newcastle and the Newark Liberty International Airport hub from May until September this year.

Flights will initially be five times a week, but Mr Laws said if people were receptive, there was the potential for services to emulate Newcastle’s successful agreement with Emirates, which has seen the carrier fly more than one million passengers between the region and Dubai since 2007.

Mr Laws told The Northern Echo: “The New York flights have got to be a highlight.

“We are starting with five times a week and if it goes well we could look to increase that.

“We have to prove to United the region wants more services because this is a tremendous opportunity for the North-East.

“The United flights are key for us; they mean we can build on and mirror the successes we have enjoyed with Emirates.

Pointing to Emirates’ passenger landmark, which it reached in late 2013 with couple Sheila and Peter Laverick, Mr Laws also revealed how the agreement had delivered further benefits.

He added: “Emirates is proof of what can happen.

“It has had a record year here in terms of passenger numbers and the things it has brought here have been fantastic.

“If you take freight alone, before Emirates it was about £20m a year, now it’s about £260m a year.”

Mr Laws said the United services come as the airport continues to push ahead with plans for a business park and ancillary services, which it previously unveiled in a grand masterplan.

The proposals include new offices and sites for aircraft engineering, maintenance and freight, which the airport says, if successful, will help take number of jobs it supports from 7,800 to about 10,000 by 2030, with its contribution to the local economy rising from about £650m to £1.3bn in the same period.

Mr Laws added: “We are continuing work on the business park and the service side, and if we get it right we know it can add thousands of jobs.

“A good business park can only be good for an airport.”