Events

There are some special flights coming up at Durham Tees Valley which FoDTVA members will be called upon to help support.

These are great opportunities to help passengers using the airport to get checked-in and process through security screening.

Our presence is not to replace the roles of airport staff, but to support them and help passengers have a great experience.

 

The flights are:

• Lapland Special – Saturday 8th December. Meet in the terminal at 4am
• Lapland Special – Monday 17th December. Meet in the terminal at 4am (TBC)
• Lourdes Flights (x2) – Friday 24th May 2019. Meet in the terminal at 4.30am.

 

We always get a great response from passengers and staff when we help out, so please consider coming along.

 

Further details will be sent out by email to FoDTVA members. If you think you can help out, please get in touch!

Last weekend members of Friends of Durham Tees Valley Airport assisted with the annual pilgrimage flights to Lourdes by members of the Catholic Church.

Around 350 people were booked to travel to Tarbes-Lourdes Airport from Durham Tees Valley on the morning of Friday 27th May, with two AlbaStar Boeing 737s chartered to fly them.

Members of FoDTVA attended the check-in area prior to both flights, helping passengers process through security and offering assistance with wheelchairs etc.

We were pleased to help out, and hopefully played a part in speeding up security processing and boarding.

Students from Middlesbrough College’s Aviation course were also helping out as part of their studies, and they were happy to pose with Vera, our mascot, once the day’s jobs were done!

 

Friends of Durham Tees Valley Airport visited the Tees Valley division of National Police Air Services at the airport on Friday, 4th December. Our hosts for the evening were Pilot Eddie Doyle, and Tactical Flight Operators Alex Campbell and Paul Jeavons.

The visit began with a short video presentation on what NPAS do and how they operate, followed by a talk from the crew and a Q&A session, during which it hit home just how big a loss this service will be when it’s axed because of Government cutbacks during 2017.

Finally we visited the helicopter itself in their nice new heated hangar, where we were allowed ‘freedom of the helicopter’ with the exception of the pilots seat. We had great fun operating the three-in-one camera on the front and using the mapping computer in the back as well!

All in all it was a fantastic evening and a bit of an eye opener as to how diverse their role is and how the very advanced technology at their disposal keeps the region safe 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

Photo credits: David Thompson / Richard Bowater, thanks to David Thompson for help with the report.

 

We had a number of requests from our members to visit the Serco International Fire Training Centre facility on the airports south-side, as well as the entirety of the south-side to view where the Lancaster bombers used to park during WWII. On 14th June, we went over there, starting with Serco where we were hosted by the fantastic Chris Brown who explained the entire operation in great detail, before jumping into Skydive St. George’s minibus to travel along the remainder of the vast south side land.

A massive thank you to Sara Lamb at Skydive St. George for taking time out of her busy schedule to transport us in their minibus and to Chris at Serco for the in depth and often humorous talk!

Photos by Chris Smith

On 19th March 2015, FoDTVA visited RAF Leeming for a base tour.

The tour began with a visit to the Historic Training Facility where a video presentation was enjoyed by all followed by a look around the room itself, from here we went on to the sad, but very interesting Tornado “reduce to produce” facility operated by BAe Systems, then ending the visit with 100 Squadron where we visited both their flight-line and their operations room.

All in all an excellent day was had by all!

Photos by Chris Smith and David Thompson

Members of Friends of Durham Tees Valley Airport attended a visit to RAF Linton-on-Ouse on Wednesday 23 September 2015.

The visit allowed time to explore the base and learn about its history and current day-to-day operations. We also got chance to inspect one of their based Short Tucano aircraft at close quarters, and even sit inside to have our photos taken.

It was a great day out, and we thank the staff at the base for our visit.

Friends of Durham Tees Valley put out their stall at the Fire Engine Rally at Preston Park near Stockton last weekend.

It was great to meet lots of people and talk about the airport.

Here are some pictures.

Friends of Durham Tees Valley were honoured to attend the RAF Leeming Families Day last weekend.

We set up a tent to provide information, leaflets and promotional items about Durham Tees Valley Airport.

Lots of people came to see us and we had a great time talking to you all, and the feedback we got was fantastic.

Here are some pictures from the day, including when our hero Vera met the Help for Heroes mascot!

Durham Tees Valley Airport handled two chartered flights to Lourdes in France as part of an annual pilgrimage organised by the local Catholic diocese on Friday 22nd May.

As with previous years, FoDTVA provided volunteers to assist airport staff in processing the passengers booked on these flights, from welcoming at the door, to helping move through airport security and boarding aircraft. In all 302 passengers we assisted, boarding a Boeing 757 and Fokker 100 aircraft.

 

 

 

 

Skylive Events has partnered with Peel Airports to bring back the much-loved airshow to Durham Tees Valley Airport.

The event is planned for Saturday 29th August.

Exact details will be announced soon, but in the meantime please ‘Like’ Skylive Events Facebook page here.

Skylive Events is run by Stockton businessman Chris Petty.