Newcastle Airport Statistics

Newcastle International Airport (NCL) is the largest airport in North East England, serving a catchment area of 3.4 million people across the region including parts of Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Southern Scotland.

Newcastle Airport handles over 5 million passengers annually, showing a strong recovery from the pandemic and approaching pre-COVID levels.

• NCL processed 5.48 million passengers in 2025, a 6.6% increase from 5.14 million in 2024 and 105% of pre-pandemic traffic.
• Following the record-breaking performance in 2025, the airport’s previous busiest year was 2018, with 5.33 million passengers.
• Passenger traffic dropped sharply by 79.6% in 2020 to 1.06 million, one of the steepest declines among UK airports due to COVID-19 restrictions.
• The number fell further in 2021 to 1.02 million, then rebounded to 4.13 million in 2022.
• In 2023, traffic reached 4.82 million, representing about 93% of 2019 levels.

Domestic vs International Passengers

Newcastle Airport has a strong international profile, largely driven by leisure travel.

• In 2025, international passengers totaled 4.53 million, accounting for 82.7% of all traffic.
• Domestic passengers reached 945,139, or 17.3%, with most domestic travel focused on routes to London.

Jet2.com leads operations at Newcastle Airport, followed by a mix of low-cost, full-service and charter carriers.

• Jet2.com operated over 4,000 flights in 2023, establishing itself as the largest carrier by flight volume with strong leisure market focus.
• Ryanair ranked second with 2,665 flights, followed by TUI Airways with 1,883 operations.
• British Airways operated 1,608 flights, primarily serving the critical London Heathrow route for business and onward connectivity.
• Loganair completed the top five with 1,594 flights, providing essential regional connections throughout Scotland and Northern England.

• Newcastle Airport offers more than 80 direct destinations across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
• Through one-stop connections with major hub partners, passengers can access over 300 global destinations.
• The year-round core network includes 30 to 40 regular routes for both business and leisure.
• Seasonal summer schedules expand the network, with charter and holiday flights to the Mediterranean and other tourist destinations.

Newcastle Airport attained a record-breaking cargo volume in 2024, surpassing 6,000 tonnes for the first time.

• Newcastle Airport reached a volume of 3,927 tonnes of cargo in 2025.
• This was a 35.4% decrease from 2024, which saw 6,080 tonnes.
• Pre-pandemic cargo peaked at 5,524 tonnes in 2018, before dropping to 1,039 tonnes in 2020.
• Cargo volumes began to recover in 2021 (1,519 tonnes), then grew to 2,449 tonnes in 2022 and 3,549 tonnes in 2023.

• Airline operational issues, including crew availability, technical faults and system failures.
• Air traffic control problems in the UK and Europe, including incidents like the July 2024 NATS failure.
• Weather-related delays, though typically managed with minimal disruption.
• Delays at hub airports, affecting connecting flights and airline schedules.