Cardiff Airport - General Thread

[Samdorob]

What do they consider Easter. Is it the two week school holiday period? Seems a bit high for the 4 day weekend.

 

[geoff]

CWL press release states it is for the period 27/3/26 to 12/4/26, which makes it a bit more realistic, but good news anyway.

 

[Jerry]

I know this article is about Northern Ireland but I hope at least Cardiff Airport is or was in the running for this engine maintenance facility as part of their MRO expansion

NI Economy: NI 'still in running' for 600 Ryanair jobs

NI is being considered by Ryanair for an engine maintenance facility which could create up to 600 jobs.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Jerry]

No mention of Cardiff Airport in the Welsh Labour manifesto. Nothing in transport or Economy sections.
Considering how the economy is a focus for the FM especially investment to me it's surprising that there's not a line about global connectivity or a mention of the Toronto route

https://www.welshlabour.wales/manifesto-2026/

 

[Em0866]

I suspect they've thrown in the towel thinking that they have no chance of leading after the next elections.

 

[CAN&I]

Its a glaring omission given both the Welsh Conservatives and Reform UK made prominent statements about their position on Cardiff Airport under their transports policies. Both will be looking to make political capital of the subject of taxpayer wastage and mismanagement during the election.

It seems Welsh Labour don't want to defend it in writing, which is surprising as the wider airport estate is, according to Grant Thornton, a £220million GVA pa net contributor to the Welsh economy. Instead they've gone for the crowd-pleasing bet rather wishy-washy pledges about traffic congestion on the M4 and A55.

Hardly inspires confidence.

 

[Jerry]

I suspect they've thrown in the towel thinking that they have no chance of leading after the next elections.

Tbf though I doubt they will think they can't win. They'll believe they can. I just find it odd that a FM who has stated that the economy and investment is her focus especially compared to her predecessor has left out any mention of better global connectivity.

It's also interesting to see how devolution of APD even just long haul APD isn't something Labour are pursuing anymore.

 

[Jerry]

Advantage of being a smaller airport the experience is more quieter overall.

UK tourists want to travel from Cardiff Airport after making unlikely discovery

Travellers are rushing to Cardiff Airport after making an unlikely discovery. Many UK tourists say they want to fly from there more often after uncovering important information

www.walesonline.co.uk

 

[Jerry]

Cardiff Airport - More customers choose Cardiff Airport this Easter Getaway

<p>Cardiff Airport is delighted to welcome over 46,000 travellers this Easter, marking an 18% increase compared to the same period […]</p>

cardiff-airport.com

 

[Jerry]

Stumbled on this old article from 2006 about £100 million investment which would include an extension to the terminal and a multi storey car park. The ambition was for 8 million passengers by 2030, still achievable do you think? Mentions new routes to Italy, Germany and Scandinavia. Italy is back in the winter and Germany was achieved, apart from Santa routes Scandinavia wasn't ever achieved. Just thought it was an interesting look back at the ambition in 2006.

BBC NEWS | UK | Wales | South East Wales | Airport plans for £100m extension

 

[CAN&I]

Stumbled on this old article from 2006 about £100 million investment which would include an extension to the terminal and a multi storey car park. The ambition was for 8 million passengers by 2030, still achievable do you think? Mentions new routes to Italy, Germany and Scandinavia. Italy is back in the winter and Germany was achieved, apart from Santa routes Scandinavia wasn't ever achieved. Just thought it was an interesting look back at the ambition in 2006.

BBC NEWS | UK | Wales | South East Wales | Airport plans for £100m extension

The world was a far, far different place 20 years ago. Hard to believe how so much has changed since then.

Abertis was still just about paying an interest in CWL. Passenger numbers were on the verge of an all-time high. BRS was still only 3 x CWL's size. easyJet was still in the process of growing in a crowded market of challenger airlines and the regional market in the south-western corner of the UK still had some way to go before BRS came to dominate it almost completely.

Then along came the rise of terrorism, the liquid bomb plot, the credit crunch and subsequent depression, austerity, Brexit, fuel price hikes, COLC, Covid, Russia/Ukraine and the Truss budget, not to mention net zero, aviation tax rises and the current carnage in the Middle East. The challenger airlines fell one by one. The remaining airlines consolidated at larger volume hubs. The domestic air travel market contracted and BRS grew to be at least 10 times the size of its nearest geographical competitor airports as a result, with the remaining market leading airlines happily super-serving the macro-region from there.

Sadly, historic expectations of 8 million passengers and multiple routes to destinations in Italy, Germany and Scandinavia are now pie in the sky. WG amended its own Covid recovery plans in 2024 and the passenger target now stands at 2 million by 2035, possibly 3 million by 2040. Given today's market and the time taken to achieve 1 million since the pandemic, even these numbers seem highly ambitious today. Its currently very difficult to imagine where another 1-2 million passengers will come from in the next 10-15 years.

 

[Samdorob]

BRS was still only 3 x CWL's size. easyJet was still in the process of growing in a crowded market of challenger airlines

I actually think CWL falling out with Ryanair was a big mistake in the 2000’s. Imagine if they would have set up a base, it could be quite significant by now. People often mention Cardiff having a poor catchment area, but the lower costs of budget airlines pulls people in from further afield.

I do however think Bristol’s success and overcrowded terminal may work in Cardiff’s favour. Just this week there was an article about how good of an experience it is to fly from Cardiff - and Cardiff certainly has the capacity to take on more flights.

 

[Jerry]

The world has definitely changed in the last 20 years with events that have hurt Cardiff Airport i hope the latest crisis doesn't do damage.
You do see a lot of complaints about overcrowding at Bristol but it doesn't stop people using them. Hopefully we'll see Ryanair establish a base in the future and keep growing. It's going to be a challenge especially without a domestic network but long term i think getting back to 2 million passengers should be a realistic goal.

 

[Jerry]

Little look back at when CWL was younger on Cardiff Airport 84th birthday.

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[Jerry]

Wales Green Party manifesto is out and Cardiff Airport gets a mention
"Finally, we will review public investment in
the aviation sector, including funding for
Cardiff Airport, with the aim of ending
such subsidies by the end of the Senedd
term and focusing instead on sustainable
transport alternatives."
Nothing beyond that. Seems to suggest that they'd pull the funding but whether they'd put the airport up for sale or let it close? I suppose as they aren’t likely to form the government so they don't really need a plan. It depends how much of an issue it would be for them in any coalition/budget talks as they're predicted to win a couple of seats.

https://wales.greenparty.org.uk/manifesto/

 

[MJC73]

Tidy

Welsh government wins Cardiff Airport legal battle against Bristol over £200m subsidy

Bristol Airport has lost a legal battle against its rival aviation hub near Cardiff over £200m in subsidy.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Jerry]

Tidy

Welsh government wins Cardiff Airport legal battle against Bristol over £200m subsidy

Bristol Airport has lost a legal battle against its rival aviation hub near Cardiff over £200m in subsidy.

www.bbc.co.uk

Good news

I wouldn't be surprised though if Bristol appeals the ruling guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[Qing4theloo]

Brilliant news.

This decision could have implications for the whole of the UK civil aviation industry. It basically means that, rather than purely business-driven factors, regions can decide, (via their democratically elected local authorities) whether or not to support their local airport.

...... And maybe ....... (with a "naive optimist" hat on) ....
one or two airlines have been waiting until the shadow of the tribunal case was removed, before pulling the trigger on new routes ... ?

 

[Samdorob]

one or two airlines have been waiting until the shadow of the tribunal case was removed, before pulling the trigger on new routes ... ?

I did think that myself. There was a lot of speculation last year and apart from West Jet, there wasn’t anything else. I guess we’ll just have to patiently wait.

 

[Jerry]

one or two airlines have been waiting until the shadow of the tribunal case was removed, before pulling the trigger on new routes ... ?

I don't think any airline would have been specifically waiting for the tribunal to launch anything specific. Cardiff will no doubt have ongoing talks with airlines for the future and we may have already seen one operate to the airport in February.