 Metro journeys to Newcastle Airport have risen by a quarter of a million over the last five years as budget airlines and business travel expands and the airport continues to offer a wider choice of destinations. Figures released today by Nexus, the Metro operator, say that the number of passengers using Metro to get the airport has gone up by 64 percent since 2002 with short break and business travellers accounting for a large proportion of the increase. During 2007 alone there were 650,000 passenger journeys to Metro’s airport terminus. Weekday Metro journeys to the airport have gone up by 35 percent since 2002, suggesting more and more people are favouring shorter breaks to European destinations and there are a greater number of business passengers flying in and out of the city. Journeys originating in the centre of Newcastle account for about 37 percent of the Metro passenger numbers. And in recent years the 'Roy Keane factor’ has played its part - with hundreds of Irish football fans flying in at weekends to see Sunderland play at home - and exploiting the direct Metro link to Stadium of Light. Director General of Nexus, Bernard Garner, said: “Metro provides one of the very best city-to-airport connections in the country. “Our latest passenger figures just underline that the airport link is getting more and more popular as Newcastle Airport continues to expand and offer an even wider variety of foreign destinations. “An extra quarter of a millions passengers on the airport line rounds off an excellent year for Metro, during which we carried a 15 year high of 39 millions passengers, and demonstrates Metro’s importance to the people of Tyneside and Wearside.” Graeme Mason, head of planning and corporate affairs at Newcastle International Airport said: “This is excellent news for Nexus and the airport. As outlined in our Masterplan, Newcastle International is committed to increasing the share of passenger journeys to and from the airport that are made by sustainable modes of transport. “The Metro system offers passengers not only a quick and convenient alternative to travelling by private car or taxi, but also an environmentally sustainable option too. We are delighted that this valuable service is being used by growing numbers of people.” Metro provides the shortest journey time between an airport and a city centre in the UK. The journey time from Newcastle city centre to Airport is just 20 minutes and from Sunderland city centre 40 minutes. The Metro extension of Metro to Newcastle Airport was opened in November 1991 at a cost of £12m. It is a 3.5km extension which saw a new station built on the airport site and a new park and ride facility built at nearby Callerton, Callerton Parkway.
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