A YEAR ago Teesside Airport was in crisis. The North-East's development agency One NorthEast was suggesting that Newcastle Airport should be given priority to develop passenger services in the region.

After an outcry, One NorthEast relented and gave both airports equal backing. Teesside's future appeared clear: it could compete on a level playing field to provide the services that the people and businesses of Cleveland, the Tees Valley and North Yorkshire wanted.

A year on, Teesside Airport is still in crisis - despite this year experiencing its busiest summer season and last year announcing record pre-tax profits.

The year of crisis has contributed to yesterday's departure of the airport's managing director and its head of marketing. These are key positions at a time when the airport is trying to expand, and the disappearance of Bob Goldfield's enthusiastic and positive voice talking up the airport's potential will be especially damaging.

The airport's board, which comprises councillors from the local authorities which own shares in the airport, has been unable to see which route to take. Like most public services, the airport has to find huge sums of money for investment when local authorities have so little excess money of their own.

The board's inability to act decisively during this year of crisis suggests that the airport's current ownership model is not operating in the most efficient way. Yesterday, though, it resolved to put aside all thoughts of privatisation and plough into the future in public hands - although Mr Goldfield's successor can still investigate a partnership with the private sector.

This decision again smacks of indecisiveness, but it is to be hoped that a new managing director can be found who is willing to take on the task of developing an airport which is hugely important to the prosperity of the people of the Tees Valley.

Date for justice

THE Northern Echo today announces the date and the venue for its public meeting of former miners. Our Justice for the Miners campaign aims to persuade the Government to speed up compensation to 110,000 miners suffering from crippling diseases caused by inhaling coal dust.

At the meeting we want to hear the former miners' stories so we can prepare a dossier to present to the Department of Trade and Industry. Already our campaign has brought the forgotten miners to the top of the national news agenda which brings more pressure to bear on the Government.

The more evidence we can find, the stronger our case and the more likely the DTI is to speed up the payments