Carlisle Lake District Airport is celebrating its first month of commercial flights.

Business and tourism leaders in the county have said they are pleased with the opening few weeks of the fledgling enterprise.

No details were released about how many seats have been sold on its three routes to Southend, Belfast and Dublin, or how full the flights have been in and out of the airport.

Kate Willard, director of partnership development at Stobart Group, said those figures were kept by operator Loganair and were "commercially sensitive".

She was delighted at the progress and said that anecdotally, the planes had been "half to three quarters full".

"That is about what we are hitting and what we were expecting," she explained.

The viability of the airport was not just down to seat sales, but also revenue from the neighbouring Eddie Stobart freight business, general aviation and its use by military organisations, she added.

"The success or not of this airport will not be solely dependent on the number of people who get on the planes," she said.

The Dutch airforce used the airport for some maneouvres earlier this year and Ms Willard is keen to see them and other airforces use the runways more.

She said: "I genuinely hope so. That is a really interesting market. I'm working with government to see if this is a market not just for us but regional airports UK plc."

Many of the flights are more than the minimum £50 price advertised, but Ms Willard said: " What a nice problem to have.

"If the prices are more, than means the route is popular and there is a demand."

Becky Kielly, safety and compliance manager and No2 at the airport said there was "a sense of relief" that the airport was fully operational and the response from passengers had been very positive.

"We have seen business people and holidaymakers use it, and a lot of families making trips," she added.

Cumbria's Local Enterprise Partnership provided £5m worth of funding for the new-look airport.

LEP chief executive Jo Lappin was delighted at how the first month had gone: “Carlisle Lake District Airport is a really important addition to Cumbria’s transport infrastructure, providing an alternative travel option for business and visitors alike.

"It is excellent to see that over 110 flights have already taken place, and it has raised the profile of the county.”

Cumbria Tourism chairman Jim Walker said: “The feedback from tourism businesses has been very positive so far."