1980s
In 1980 the airport reached the milestone of 1 million passengers per year. The new expansion plans were completed, delivering improved check-in, lounges, catering and duty free facilities. A new parallel taxiway was constructed to speed aircraft turnaround times and greatly simplify ground manoeuvres.
Jim Denyer retired in 1989 and his role was filled by Trevor Went. Under Trevor Went’s stewardship, the airport placed considerable emphasis on expanding its network of scheduled routes, both domestic and international. Towards the end of the decade passenger numbers had reached 1.6 million a year.
1990s
In 1991 Nexus constructed an extension to the Metro system linking Newcastle Airport to the city & beyond, dramatically improving rail access to the airport.
In 1991/92, while some airports in the midlands and south of England recorded traffic losses of more than 20 per cent in the wake of the Gulf War and recession at home, Newcastle Airport was busy recording an impressive rise in traffic to a new record of 1.67 million passengers per year.
Whilst the number of passengers on both domestic and international scheduled routes had continued to show steady growth, the increase in charter holiday traffic was astounding, up 43 per cent in 1992/93 compared with the previous year. By 1993, passenger figures had hit 2 million.
Based on a turnover of £25.6 million Newcastle International was now ranked 117th largest company in the North East and 39th based on profit.
An extended and improved terminal building was opened on May 26, 1994 by the Princess Royal.
