New long-haul services take off from Newcastle

Newcastle Airport played host to the launch of two new long-haul routes from the north-east of England over the bank holiday weekend.

New flights to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and Cancun in Mexico took off for the first time on May 4th and 5th respectively.

According to Newcastle Airport, the launches marked the beginning of its summer season.

Some 3.5 million passengers are expected to pass through the north-east hub between May and October and more than 150 seasonal staff have been recruited to help handle the traffic flow.

New positions have been created in customer services, security, baggage handling and other areas.

Head of airline relations and development Chris Sanders said: "Since last summer, Newcastle International Airport has worked harder than ever to develop its long-haul route network.

"We're very pleased to announce even more scheduled flights to some beautiful destinations not just in Europe, but across the world. Punta Cana and Cancun promise to be very popular with customers in the region."