PASSENGER numbers at Teesside International Airport in January were up 20 per cent on the previous year.
A total of 39,340 flyers passed through the airport last month compared with 32,621 in January 2002.
The announcement came as the airport management revealed it had signed a deal with short break operator Transun.
The travel firm will operate special one-off flights to Crete (Chania) and Madeira.
In addition, Transun has added two extra flights to Malta for the peak holiday month of August. Overall passenger numbers at Teesside were helped most by scheduled services.
The Amsterdam route saw the biggest rise, up 52.1 per cent in the wake of the introduction of a jet service to Holland three times a day.
New Year seat sales campaigns by airlines also added to the popularity of air travel.
Passenger numbers on charter flights demonstrated promising growth, with nine per cent more people escaping winter weather for warmer conditions in the Canary Islands and mainland Spain
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