AN airport power struggle has intensified after a leading politician stepped up a takeover plan.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen today (Wednesday, March 28) reiterated his intention to return Durham Tees Valley Airport to public ownership.

The pledge came as airport officials unveiled new Bulgarian summer flights, which they say prove their commitment to boosting the site’s leisure provision.

Weekly services to Bourgas, in Bulgaria, will start next May and run until September.

The flights come at a pivotal time for the airport, which was rocked earlier this year when Loganair’s flights to Aberdeen were grounded, just weeks after sister operations to Norwich were scrapped.

Bosses also continue to face criticism over perceived failures in addressing falling passenger numbers since the loss of holiday charter flights and a flagship London connection, with such censures matched by Mr Houchen’s warning that operator Peel must “up their game or sell to someone who will”.

He also previously vowed to veto a proposed £500,000 boost from the Tees Valley Combined Authority to help Peel develop new routes and improve terminal facilities, saying it needed to stop “going cap in hand to rate payers.”

Last night, the Mayor, who swept to election victory last year on a pledge to return the airport to public ownership, warned only his intervention will help the base fulfil its potential.

He also said he remains fully confident of meeting his ballot box promise, despite Peel’s insistence it doesn’t want to sell.

He said: “Temporary package holidays are welcome, but we need proper airlines based at our airport.

“I’ve made no secret our airport can be a success, but only under new ownership.

“In the coming weeks I’ll be moving into the next phase of discussions with Peel to bring our airport back into public ownership,” added Mr Houchen.

The airport’s newly-installed managing director David Grant said the Bourgas route, overseen by Balkan Holidays, shows officials remain dedicated to the base.

He said: “This demonstrates that when there are opportunities to attract new leisure flights, we will do all we can to make it happen.

“As we made clear in our business plan for the airport, and with the launch of our Flying for the Future campaign, maintaining and developing vital regional and global connections, such as through the KLM service to Amsterdam Schiphol, is a priority for us.

“This latest announcement is the result of lots of hard work to create the conditions that allow us when a commercially-viable opportunity arises, to deliver leisure flights.

“Going forward, we can build stronger cases for further new routes.”