Excelsis to start Durham to London route "by the end of the year"

28/08/2009

A new airline has secured £10 million of financial backing that could see it launch flights from Durham Tees Valley Airport by 2010, it has been reported.

Excelsis Airways, the brainchild of Victor Bassey, a Nigerian businessman living in Middlesborough, has announced that it hopes to launch a service from the north-east hub to London City Airport using an aircraft rented from another company.

Andreas Blass, Excelsis chief executive, told the Northern Echo: "We have a commitment for £10 million startup financing.

"We cannot, at this moment, reveal the investment and capital risk investments behind that simply because of strategic reasons."

A spokesman for Durham Tees Valley Airport added: "We look forward to further discussions with the senior management team now it has been appointed."

The carrier had originally intended to launch its inaugural flight from the north-east on September 19th.

Mr Blass spent 20 years in the Royal Air Force and is a former test pilot, the Excelsis website notes.