Newcastle Airport has welcome its one millionth passenger to travel through the airport since the start of 2023, with the summer holidays still two months away.
In 2022, more than four million passengers used the North East's largest airport, with numbers getting back towards pre-pandemic levels of almost 5.2 million. This year's numbers are close to surpassing 2020 and 2021, when the travel industry was severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lei, an academic from Durham, was travelling from Newcastle to Frankfurt with Lufthansa on April 27 for business. Lei said they were "really surprised" when the airport and airline welcomed them with £75 to spend at the Airport's World Duty Free store.
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Lufthansa established a direct connection between Newcastle and global hub Frankfurt in 2021 with six weekly flight. Travellers from Newcastle can fly onward to Hong Kong, Cairo and several destinations around the world from the German city.
Chris Ion, aviation development manager at Newcastle International Airport, said: "We are pleased to be celebrating our one millionth passenger year to date 2023. It is great to be celebrating this milestone with Lufthansa, which is a valued airline of the Airport, providing six weekly direct flights to Frankfurt and their network beyond. As we head towards the busy summer holiday period, we look forward to welcoming more passengers to the Airport for their business and leisure trips."
Heinrich Lange, senior director sales Northern Europe, Lufthansa Group Airlines, said: "This celebration is a symbol of the recovery and reaffirms that the desire for people to travel is strong. Connecting people, cultures and economies in a sustainable way is our mission and we look forward to welcoming even more of our passengers across the North East onboard soon."
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