WHILE the predicted increased use of Teesside and Newcastle airports is welcome as far as it goes, it is disappointing that the North-East and Yorkshire do not figure more prominently in the Government's thoughts on how Britain might accommodate the huge increase in air travel forecast for the coming decades.

The omission is not just because the suggestions are mainly about the building of additional runways at existing airports, especially Stansted, with the possibility of new airports far south of here thrown in as options. After all, neither Newcastle or, especially, Teesside seem likely to exhaust their present capacity for many years.

No, the predictability of Alastair Darling's approach to the problem lies in the failure to look properly at the national dimension. Of course, the region most directly affected when the mainstream airlines eventually throw off their post-September 11 blues will be the South-East. And of course it is a matter of national profit, as well as pride, that London is allowed the resources to sustain it as a world-class capital.

By concentrating its efforts so hugely on the overcrowded South-East, the consultation paper misses an opportunity to share the problem. It seems to believe there is little point in enabling more of the incoming millions to land at airports in parts of Britain they are increasingly including in their tours. An example to copy is the US, with many transatlantic gateways in far-flung cities. Europe has opened a score of new destinations, including little-known Carcassone and Treviso, to no-frills airlines flying, alas, mainly from Stansted and Luton.

It goes without saying that people in the regions would willingly forgo hours of travel to London or Manchester if more direct flights departed locally. Mr Darling says he wants to cause the minimum environmental damage with his extra-runways solution, yet perpetuates countless road journeys to distant airports.

He should remember that, as a member of a Government claiming commitment to the regions, he could benefit them significantly by spending some of the extra-runways money on enabling airports like Teesside to make unmissable offers to attract airlines