Durham Tees Valley Airport (MME)

About Durham Tees Valley International Airport

Durham Tees Valley is located about 6 miles east of Darlington and 24 miles south of Durham City centre. Durham Tees Valley Airport is a small airport in North East England that was formerly known as Teesside International Airport. It is one of the UK’s smaller international airports and in 2006 it handled 900,000 passengers.

Parking at the Airport

Durham Tees Valley now has two separate car parks for passengers to use upon their arrival at the airport. The main car park is right outside the terminal building. Parking spaces for passengers with reduced mobility are available at the front of the car park.
There is also a ‘drop off-pick up’ car park located at the side of the terminal building. There is no charge to drivers using the ‘drop off-pick up’ car park for up to 20 minutes.

Facilities and Services

Durham Tees Valley Airport has services to 29 international scheduled destinations and charter destinations. Passenger facilities in the terminal include airport information; baby change facilities; car hire; cash machines; currency exchange; Exlcusive Business Lounges; Serendipity games; WiFi Internet access and facilities for passengers requiring special assistance.
The terminal building also offers a small range of retail and catering outlets including WH Smith.
Durham Tees Valley Airport has two exclusive Business Lounges available for passengers of BMI, with specific tickets that allow entry.

Getting To The Airport

By road - Durham Tees Valley Airport is situated on the A67, 6 miles east of Darlington. The A67 can be accessed from the A1(M); A19 and the A66.
By rail – The nearest station is Darlington. It is a busy station with over 40 trains per day from Durham, Newcastle and York.
By bus - The Tees Valley Sky Express direct bus service (737) operates between the airport, Darlington train station and the town hall. This service is free to use for air passengers with proof of arriving or departing by air travel within a 24 hour period. There are also a variety of bus services operated by Arriva that link Durham Tees Valley Airport to the towns and villages surrounding the airport.

History of Durham Tees Valley Airport

In 1941 an RAF bomber base was built on the site that is now Durham Tees Valley Airport. It was known as RAF Middleton-St-George. In 1963 it was decided that the base should close and that the site should be converted to a civil airfield. An extensive refurbishment was undertaken and in 1963 Teesside Airport was officially opened.

The first scheduled service to operate from Teesside Airport was to Manchester, and since then the airport has been developed to satisfy much of the air transport needs of the area. In 1987 the airport was privatized and became Teesside International Airport.

In April 2003 an agreement was reached with Peel Holdings plc. Under the agreement, Peel acquired a majority shareholding in the Airport, but the local authorities retained a significant interest in the company and are involved in its continuing development. Huge investment by Peel Holdings meant that work began on an access road to the terminal and car park improvements. The airport was renamed Durham Tees Valley Airport in 2004.