AFTER weeks of speculation, budget airline flyglobespan last night pulled out of Durham Tees Valley Airport (DTVA).

The airline expressed “sadness”

at the decision and said it came after lengthy discussions with the airport to see if a way could be found to continue services.

In December, flyglobespan chief executive Rick Green told The Northern Echo that the company was “reviewing”

its operations from the airport, as the aircraft it had based there was approaching the end of its lease.

The airline started flying from DTVA in March 2007, creating 60 jobs.

Last night, a flyglobespan spokesman said: “We have been looking at different ways of deploying our aircraft to maximise our products in these challenging economic conditions.

“Unfortunately, that means we will not be flying from DTVA in 2009.

“There was great willingness between ourselves and the airport authorities to try and identify a solution to this but, despite lengthy negotiations, we could not find a way to continue our service.

“We make this decision with great sadness as we have spent two years building up a customer base at Durham Tees Valley.

“However, in today’s economic climate, we have to ensure our assets are deployed in the most viable manner.”

The spokesman said the airline retained a “positive” relationship with the airport’s authorities, and would look at using DTVA in the future.

A spokesman for Peel Airports, which operates DTVA, said: “Despite this disappointing news from flyglobespan and the wider economic challenges facing the industry, airport management remain confident that, with a catchment area of 2.7 million people within an hour’s drive of the airport, Durham Tees Valley’s long-term development prospects remain bright.”

He added: “It is clearly a difficult period for the airline industry as a whole and, against the general economic situation, it is inevitable that some airlines may feel the need to restructure their operations.”

The spokesman said the demand within the region for flights to the Mediterranean and other holiday destinations remained “very strong”.

He added: “In some respects, the changes taking place within the industry do offer the opportunity for other operators to meet that demand, and the airport is obviously in discussions with a number of parties on the development of new services.”

Last year, flyglobespan denied rumours it was considering pulling out of DTVA and in October, the airport said it was “very close” to finalising an agreement with the airline for next year’s itinerary.

DTVA has suffered a number of blows in recent months, caused by the economic downturn.

Thomson said it was axing its Alicante route from April and Hungarian carrier Wizz Air pulled its service to Warsaw, Poland.

Bmi, which operates three daily flights from DTVA to London Heathrow, also started using smaller aircraft because of a drop in demand.

However, Christine Ourmieres, UK general manager of Air France KLM, reaffirmed her company’s commitment to DTVA on a visit to the airport in September last year.