On 9 March, Wendy and I found ourselves on a flight from Belfast to Newcastle. As we approached our destination, the captain came over the tannoy.

Ladies and gentlemen, my apologies, but we’re currently unable to land at Newcastle. Work on the runway means that the lights are currently inoperable, and the current fog means that we cannot land without runway lights. We will circle for a while to see if the fog clears, but otherwise, we may need to divert.

Disappointment turned to dismay as the fog only thickened, and the captain eventually confirmed that we would be diverted… back to Belfast.

A few months later, dismay turned to disbelief as we stared at this chunk of runway tarmac in Newcastle Airport’s 90th anniversary exhibition:

It claimed, in black and white, that the runway resurfacing in March 2025 had been successfully completed ‘without disrupting the flight schedule’.

I beg to differ.