Teesside Airshow: VIP experience slammed by Norton couple

John Ross and Rosalind Davies drove from Norton to Teesside Airshow last Saturday (June 11) and as they are “aviation nuts” decided to splurge on VIP tickets, costing £120 each.

John and Rosalind have attended numerous airshows from all over the world, so decided to try Teesside after having moved here a few months ago.

With blocked toilets and overflowing bins, however, they felt their experience did not live up to the VIP treatment that was promised.

Read more: Teesside Airshow organisers issue statement over refunds due to traffic chaos

Traffic jams on the way to Teesside Airshow. Picture: ROSALIND DAVIES

John said: “Our journey of normally just 20 minutes took 4 and a half hours and we took the advice of giving plenty of time for the sold-out event. We travelled from the A66 and did not witness any signs of an accident.

John and Rosalind booked their tickets on April 8 and “our anticipation and excitement grew but the event was a huge disappointment.”

Read more: Teesside Airshow: People get out of cars to take pictures of The Red Arrows

Rosalind said: “We got to the VIP area and were told the Red Arrows were already in the sky but the bar was open. We were more interested in the Red Arrows and the other displays than the bar.

“The food was disappointing and cold. The waiters were tried their best under difficult circumstances and they were great but as far as we could see they were the only ones making an effort.

“The toilets were awful. Not VIP at all. The toilets were blocked. The bins were overflowing with paper towels and there was no water to wash your hands in the ladies. Awful.

“There were also elderly/disabled people with walking frames and crutches. If there were accessible toilets, we certainly didn’t see signs for them.”

An overflowing bin at the VIP toilets at Teesside Airshow. Picture: ROSALIND DAVIES

The hand-washing area of the men's toilets. Picture: JOHN ROSS

Read more: ‘We had a good day’: Visitors who managed to enter Teesside Airshow praise event

In response, Chris Petty, director of SkyLive, said:“The VIP experience had 500 guests and probably about 498 of them had an amazing time.

“A lot of claims that have been made are simply untrue – some said there were no disabled facilities but I know there were, because I took our guest of honour – who is in a wheelchair – to them myself.

“At an event, there will always be people who don’t like things, and they’re more likely to talk about that than someone who just had a good time and went home.”

Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, issued a statement last weekend. He said: “Teesside Airshow has been a victim of its own success and, while it’s been great to see more than 20,000 people wanting to visit the show, it’s a huge shame that many people have had their days spoiled by long queues.

“I am so sorry that delays and traffic have impacted not just those going to our airshow, but also local people trying to get around.

“I will be speaking to the organisers and conducting a full review and debrief as a matter of urgency early next week.

“I will also be liaising with the organisers to do whatever I can to get refunds for those who suffered major delays or who were unable to attend as a result of the delays. At this time, I can only apologise again for any disappointment people rightly feel.”

--

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated Teesside Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054