Newcastle Airport rejects Queen tribute renaming proposal

The airport's board said Newcastle International Airport's current name was well established globally

Calls to rename Newcastle Airport after Queen Elizabeth II have been rejected.

Northumberland Conservative county councillor Gordon Stewart said calling it Newcastle Queen Elizabeth International Airport would be a "lasting memorial" to the former monarch following her death this month.

The Conservative MPs for Hexham and North West Durham have backed the proposal.

However the airport's board said it "would not be a feasible response".

A spokesman for the airport said it had "an established name in the global aviation market, which has taken many decades to build up".

The board understood the "sentiment of the suggested renaming" and was reviewing how the airport would commemorate the Queen's reign in another way, he said.

The Queen experienced the North East's other transport offerings on visits to the region

Part of the airport falls within the boundary of Northumberland County Council, which has launched a public consultation on a permanent memorial for the Queen.

Mr Stewart, who represents Prudhoe South on the council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service renaming the airport would be a fitting tribute.

"This will create a region-wide lasting memorial to our longest serving monarch," he said.

"We have seen the airport grow during her reign to, now, it being a vital part of life in the North East."

The council's consultation closes on 19 October. 

Hexham MP Guy Opperman said such a memorial to the Queen would "help to put our area even more on the map" and should be considered.

North West Durham MP Richard Holden said it was an "excellent idea" as the region had a "special bond" with the late monarch.

"The pain of the nation was nowhere more apparent than up here," he said.