A MAJOR airshow is set to return to the region after a 25-year absence, organisers have confirmed.

The Teesside Airshow returns to Durham Tees Valley Airport this summer with an impressive line-up of air displays, classic cars, fairground rides and live music.

The event, dubbed the 2015 Skylive Airshow, takes place on August 29 with main attractions including modern day jets through to classic British fighter planes, aerobatic display teams and the iconic Battle of Britain Spitfire.

Skylive co-founder Chris Petty wants the event to be the biggest day out of the year for the North-East and said: “It’s our first year at Durham Tees Valley Airport but the support has been amazing.

“The Friends of Durham Tees Valley and the airport team have been amazing at helping us secure planes and get the right format for the airshow.

“We want the event to get bigger every year but we have to start somewhere.

“We have a packed programme but we’ve also made sure that the event is much more than just an airshow.

“We have some brilliant on the ground activities and displays taking place all day, a huge fun fair and a massive stage for the evening’s entertainment.

“This is a day out for the whole family.”

In addition to the airborne attractions, the event is also set to be a culinary extravaganza with street food stalls, VIP dining marquees and competitions including a cake versus pie bake-off.

There will also be flight simulators and helicopter rides and organisers hope to create a festival feel, with live music taking to the stage in the evening.

Co-founder Lee Booth said: “Mixing up delicious food, great music and an airshow gives people much better value for money and hopefully attracts new people to this amazing site. “We’ve still got quite a few planes, artists and events to announce between now and the big day but this is turning into a real festival for Teesside.”

Plans were mooted in 2013 to bring an airshow back to Durham Tees Valley Airport but they had to be scrapped when organisers could not attract enough investment.

Tickets for the Skylive Airshow go on sale at 6pm today (Wednesday, May 6) and in addition to early bird access and a tour around the hangers, the first 5,000 ticket buyers will also receive a special commemorative ticket marking the first year of the airshow’s return.

General admission is £15, with ticket offers available.

Visit skyliveevents.co.uk to buy, and for more information follow the Facebook page skylive or on Twitter @skyliveevents.