AIRPORT bosses will continue working hard to make a site “the place people want to fly from” after record passenger numbers bolstered a £3.5m expansion plan, The Northern Echo can reveal.

Newcastle Airport welcomed more than 283,000 flyers last month, marking the highest number for January in a decade.

Senior boss Graeme Mason hailed the airport’s healthy itinerary, with services to Madrid, Berlin and Poland augmented by the return of Egyptian flights and record-breaking numbers on its blue-ribbon Emirates’ Dubai operation, while the Echo can confirm Tunisian flights are just weeks away from re-starting.

Hailing the potency of its timetable, Mr Mason also cited an investment in a new baggage security system, adding moves to extend car parking space, fit new radars and offer self-service check-in and luggage drop-off functions have added further ballast to the site.

Praising the progress of the airport’s carriers, Mr Mason, planning and corporate affairs director, said: “The airport has been growing strongly for some time and it’s good to see the start of the year getting off to such a start.

“It comes after passenger growth in 2016 and 2017, with more than five million last year, which was the highest number in a decade, and we are delivering on flights.

“Our goal is to be the best airport and make Newcastle the airport that people want to fly from.

“We’ve benefited from our Polish routes and Madrid, alongside Ryanair, and Berlin with Easyjet.

“Emirates is a real gateway, but we are proud too of our connections to Heathrow, Amsterdam and Paris, which help strengthen the North-East’s links to the global economy.”

Mr Mason also confirmed the airport will this year strengthen its mid-haul destination roster with a return to Tunisia for the first time since the 2015 Sousse terror attack that killed nearly 40 people.

The resumption, delivered through a partnership with Thomas Cook to the East Coast resort of Enfidha, will complement further services to Turkey alongside the carrier, as well as routes to Greece and Croatia with Jet2 and Tui, respectively.

However, work is ongoing internally too, with Mr Mason saying its £3.5m expansion will provide passengers with an even smoother journey through the airport, which is working alongside Visit Britain, the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative and local tourist organisations to drive inbound tourist numbers.

He added: “We are continuing work on a new border hall to expand the passport control area for people on return international flights.

“We already work very closely with UK Border Force to keep any queuing to a minimum and have a strong reputation of getting people through security, but this investment will certainly help.”

Mr Mason last year called on the Government to make a UK-wide 25 per cent cut in air passenger duty (APD) by 2019, which he said would create a level playing field by easing potentially heightened competition from north of the border in the post-Brexit era.

The Scottish Government wants to replace APD with a devolved air departure tax, though the proposals have hit some turbulence.

Mr Mason told the Echo action to mitigate any APD change would protect existing services from Scottish competition, make better use of the UK’s airport capacity and help bases compete with European rivals benefiting from lower or no aviation tax.