Newcastle International Airport boss John Parkin was suspended from his job yesterday.
Chief executive John Parkin was suspended from day-to-day duties while a probe is carried out.
A statement issued by the organisation said: "Newcastle International Airport Ltd has today suspended its chief executive, John Parkin, from the day-to-day management of the Company, whilst an investigation is carried out concerning certain personal contractual issues."
An airport spokeswoman refused to release any further details last night.
It is not known whether Mr Parkin has been suspended on full pay or how long the investigation will take.
The spokeswoman said: "The airport company will not be making any further comment on this matter until the investigation has been concluded."
But the leader of one North-East council with shares in the airport described it as a "complex situation" of "great concern".
The decision is understood to have been taken at a meeting of the airport company board on Thursday.
Its commercial and aviation development director David Laws - until this week the only other executive director - will act as chief executive while the investigation is carried out.
A third executive director has now been appointed, the company announced yesterday. Simon Fisher will take up the position of finance director and company secretary.
The airport company is jointly owned by seven North-East councils, who between them have 51% of the shares, and Copenhagen Airports.
South Tyneside Council - which acts as the "lead authority" on the local authority holding company - would not comment.
But Newcastle Council leader John Shipley said: "As a shareholder, along with other local councils, this situation is obviously of great concern to Newcastle City Council.
"However, it would be inappropriate for the city council to comment further on what is clearly a complex situation."
Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority member Greg Stone, said: "It's surprising news. He's been very highly thought of and considered to have done a good job."
Mr Parkin, 52, who came to Newcastle in 2002 after working as managing director of Bristol International Airport, is also a board member of the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative marketing agency.
He was unavailable for comment at his home in Newcastle last night.
His suspension comes three months after a major re-financing deal was trumpeted, which released £80m to the five Tyne and Wear authorities and two county councils which hold shares. The finance was provided through a long-term loan by the Royal Bank of Scotland, which replaces a series of commercial loans entered into in 2001.
However, concerns were raised that its long-term implications may not be favourable, as the authorities refused on grounds of commercial confidentiality to disclose details of the extra borrowing taken on as part of the deal.
Flight plan started with the grass roots and soared to the jetstream
Newcastle Airport started life as little more than a hanger and a grass runway in 1935 - it is now the most rapidly-expanding in the UK.
It is the ninth-largest in the UK, but passenger numbers continue to soar - 5.19 million passed through its doors in 2005.
The latest big-name airline to arrive is Emirates, which in January announced a daily service to Dubai from September 1 this year.
Newcastle Airport is owned by seven local authorities - Durham and Northumberland County Councils, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland councils, who have a 51% stake, and Copenhagen Airport, which has 49%. At the end of last year, it was revealed that a re-financing deal at the airport left the local authorities sharing an £80m dividend. The airport paid the money out after it struck a deal effectively to re-mortgage the site.
The airport recently set out development proposals until 2016.
In the near term, these include building a multi-storey car park to replace the current short-stay parking area, a 187-bedroom on-site hotel and the expansion of the freight facilities.
There are also plans to extend the runway at its east end and connect the airport with the National Rail network.
Source: Ross Smith, The Journal
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