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A £1m deal sweetener to attract airlines to Durham Tees Valley Airport has been recommended for approval.

Dubbed the “Air Connectivity Facility”, the deal requires airlines bid for a seven figure sum in return for strengthening ties with the beleaguered airport.

The money would be paid out by the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) over three years, if the plan is given the green light on Monday.

A meeting of the TCVA discussed the possibility of a deal in February with public money earmarked to help reduce the risks for airlines looking to branch out.

And the importance of flights to Schipol Airport, near Amsterdam, from the airport were stressed in March.

(Image: Evening Gazette)

Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen backed the deal.

He said: “The facility is designed to support airlines and route operators looking to fly from our airport.

“This is a necessary step to support airlines in the short term, but it will also be a key part of my longer-term plan if we get hold of the airport.”

Passenger numbers fell at the airport from 140,902 people in 2015 to 132,369 in 2016.

However, if the deal is passed and works - with passenger numbers breaching 200,000 - the deal would be revised.

A report on the £1m fund proposal pointed out the airport’s perilous predicament with the continuing decline of the airport labelled a “significant risk” to the region’s economy.

Authority members set aside £500,000 in this year’s budget to try and open up routes to the airport.

If this fresh deal is rubber stamped, the airline deal would use this money plus another £500,000 from the TCVA coffers to attract airlines until 2021.

Priority would be given to flight operators from European hub airports.

Members will vote on the proposal behind closed doors at a special meeting next week before discussing separate arrangements over the future of the airfield.

The office of the mayor stressed “not one penny” of the £1m would go to Peel group which owns 89% of the airport.