Teesside International Airport has appointed its new managing director.

He is 44-year-old Hugh Lang, who joins from Glasgow Prestwick Airport in Scotland.

Mr Lang joined Glasgow Prestwick as business development manager in 1993, before becoming commercial director a year later and managing director in 1995.

Two years later he was promoted to managing director of Skyeports Europe and group aviation director.

Following the sale of Prestwick to Stagecoach Holdings in 1998, Mr Lang became managing director of Stagecoach Aviation Europe.

He began his career as a geologist before moving into the business development field. He holds a BSc honours degree in geology and an MBA in Marketing.

Mr Lang outlined his plans for the future.

He said: "There will be greater challenges and opportunities for Teesside International over the next five to ten years, including establishing its position within the European regional airports market.

"Successful regional airports are widely recognised as key drivers to economic development and job creation within their communities.

"I am confident that Teesside International can build on its success with the development of a broader range of aviation and logistics products for the future."

He added: "With strong leadership and an innovative approach to product development, I strongly believe that Teesside International is now in an excellent position to capitalise on its strengths of runway capacity and land availability to stimulate future economic development within the region."

Mr Lang's appointment has been welcomed by the chairman of the Teesside International board, Councillor Ken Hall.

He said: "We believe he is the right person to build on the excellent foundations which have been established here.

"He has an excellent record of success at Prestwick, including implementing a freight programme and involvement in growing passenger numbers from zero to 600,000 per year in four years.