Newcastle Airport stake sold to Spanish firm in multi-million pound deal

PART of the ownership of Newcastle Airport has been sold to a Spanish firm in a multimillion-pound deal.

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InfraBridge, which had owned a 49% stake in the airport, has sold just over half of that stake to Aena Internacional, the operator of most airports in Spain.

The airport will remain 51% owned by the LA7, the councils in Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and County Durham.

The new ownership is not expected to result in noticeable differences for passengers but has been seen as a major vote of confidence in the airport, its growth plan and the North East economy.

Aena has also bought a 51% stake in Leeds Bradford Airport, which Infrabridge had owned outright, with the total deal for the share in the two airports coming in at around £270m. Despite the similar ownership, Newcastle and Leeds Bradford will continue to operate completely separately, not least because of the council control at Newcastle.

Aena - which is 51% owned by the Spanish government - operates most of the airports in Spain and also operates Luton Airport, near London, and airports in Mexico, Brazil and Jamaica.