military origins. Middlesbrough Municipal AerodromE is also often quoted. However the latter seems unlikely as the Airport is actually located in Darlington County Durham. In the early days the airport developed a network of mainly scheduled routes, with limited inclusive tour charter flights. The destinations were consistent but the airlines were not, with British Midland, BKS Air Transport, Dan-Air, Autair and Channel Airways all coming and going before the turn of the decade. In November 1969 British Midland returned when they were awarded the licence to fly the London Heathrow route, which they continued operating until 28 March 2009. The 1970s saw a decline in regional services but a growth in holiday flights, courtesy of Northeast Airlines (a rebranded BKS Air Transport) and Britannia Airways, as well as overseas operators such as Aviaco, Spantax and Aviogenex amongst others. On 19 October 1971 the Teesside Airport railway station opened, with a shuttle bus running between the station and the terminal. In 1974, the shares were divided between the newly formed Cleveland and Durham County Councils. Also during the year, the CAA declared Tees-Side should be the primary airport for the North East of England, ultimately however Newcastle International Airport prospered. The 1980s saw scheduled routes resurge thanks to home-grown airline Casair Aviation Services, who had started out as an air taxi operator in 1972. In October 1982 Casair merged with Genair of Liverpool and Eastern Airways of Humberside (the airline of the same name still based there today is a phoenix company) under the Genair name, and one month later the first UK regional feeder franchise network was launched when Genair partnered with British Caledonian, trading under the British Caledonian Commuter Services banner. Unfortunately the new venture only lasted until July 1984 when Genair collapsed, causing the loss of 11 out of 18 routes for Tees-Side Airport. Luckily the airport valued the services more than owed fees, leading to Casair being reborn and taking over Genair services to Glasgow and Humberside, which they operated initially on behalf of Air Ecosse and then independently. On 11 December 1982 the airport chartered Concorde for the day, it would visit twice more before its retirement, on 23 August 1986 for the air show and 30 April 1995. Teesside International I In 1987 the airport was privatised, with Cleveland and Durham local authorities retaining their shares. As part of this process the airport rebranded from