On Monday 1st April it will have been 70 years since Cardiff Airport became the only airport to serve the capital city of Wales and eventually become Wales national airport. In this time Cardiff Airport has connected Wales capital city and Wales as a country with its closest neighbours, seen off many rugby and football fans over the years and connected Wales to more sunnier climates. For me personally Cardiff Airport helped me gain my love of aviation and travel and helped me see my country in a different light and opened my eyes to what the world has to offer.
A brief history
What is now Cardiff Airport started out as RAF Rhoose in 1942 and was used as a training site for the legendary Spitfire fighter. After WW2 it was closed but then reopened in 1952 as a civilian airport with Aer Lingus service to Dublin being the first route. On 1st April 1954 all commercial air traffic was transferred to the Rhoose airfield and Cardiff Municipal Airport in the Pengam Moors part of Cardiff ceased operations leaving the Rhoose site as the only commercial passenger airport and by the 1960s the airport saw 100,000 passengers a year using the airport. In the 1980s the name was changed to Cardiff-Wales airport along with the runway being extended to allow jets like the 747 use the airport which allowed flights to North America and lead to British Airways setting up its maintenance facility that is still a major employer at the airport. The airport achieved 1 million passengers a year in 1995 when it was privatised and then in 2007 it hit its high mark of 2,094,000 million a year. In 2009 the name was changed to Cardiff Airport and the airport saw 1.6 million people a year using it. In 2013 Cardiff Airport was bought by the Welsh government under Carwyn Jones (purchased for £52 million) after a period of lack of investment by its owners and falling passenger numbers due to a recession. In 2014 Ryanair returned to the airport after leaving in 2006 and in 2015 Flybe opened a 2 aircraft base which grew to 3 aircraft, TUI also grew their operation eventually basing 3 aircraft and Thomas Cook expanded to using a larger aircraft and in May 2018 Qatar Airways commenced its service to Doha. By 2019 Cardiff Airport was served by 9 airlines serving 50 direct destinations and saw 1,656,085.
The airport as it is now.
Since 2019 Cardiff has lost nearly 50% of it’s passengers and routes and 2 of its biggest airlines in Flybe and Thomas Cook who both collapsed leading to a loss of frequency on many routes like Dublin and Edinburgh. A big major contributor to this downturn was the global pandemic that started in early 2020 and caused a global lockdown and the effective shutdown of the aviation industry as only essential travel was allowed, and this wasn’t enough to sustain services at Cardiff. Although the airport did remain open, scheduled services and the terminal itself was closed for quite some time, but the airfield was still in use for the parking of British Airways aircraft and Wizz Air aircraft. The airport was also used to receive PPE cargo flights for NHS Wales. Cardiff resumed passenger flights in 2021 and welcomed a new airline in Wizz Air in 2022, unfortunately Wizz Air left Cardiff in early 2023. For Summer 2024 Cardiff Airport will be served by 7 airlines and serve 26 direct destinations and saw 838,574 use the airport in 2023.
What’s the future for Cardiff Airport?
Looking at the passenger numbers for 2023 anyone could be forgiven for thinking that the future is bleak with key routes like Edinburgh no longer having multiple daily flights and airlines like Wizz Air and Eastern Airways ceasing operations and the hoped-for return of Qatar Airways not materialising. The financial cost of the Welsh government’s ownership of the airport is also considered too expensive by many as it has continued to make a loss and required financial support to keep running and the pandemic hasn’t helped. In total since 2013 the Welsh government as the airports owner has invested £179.6 million into it. Acquisition and equity investments total £67.9 million, loans worth £69.8 million and grants of £41.9 million (£41.6 million of this is the pandemic grant) have been given to the airport. That’s an average of £16.3 million a year over the 11 years of government ownership and this continued investment is a source of political objection from the biggest opposition party in the Senedd the Welsh Conservative’s with their Shadow Minister for Transport and Technology Natasha Asghar recently calling it a failed endeavour and stating in a recent article in Nation Cymru that the Welsh Conservatives wouldn’t have invested this money into the airport though that’s probably easier said by a party in opposition with no real prospects of getting into government and having the responsibility for Wales only international airport.
Is the future bleak for Cardiff Airport? No. As long as the Welsh government continue to see the necessity for an international airport in Wales then it will continue to be supported financially by its owner and continue to stay operational despite some people’s objections. The government could sell it but who would buy the airport as it is now? And I personally think it’s likely any new owners would continue to look to the Welsh government for financial support. There’s no doubt that the airport will continue to have challenges. The economic situation doesn’t look rosy, it has a much larger neighbour drawing from its catchment area, has the challenge of a lot less airlines available than before not to mention ones like EasyJet and Jet2 who are not interested in flying from Cardiff and it’s owners don’t have the ability to reduce or change taxes like Air Passenger Duty to attract airlines due to Westminster’s refusal not to devolve them. But it’s not all bad, the airport continues to have the confidence of TUI who have 1 aircraft based all year round and during the summer months (May to October) increase that base to 3 aircraft and on some routes use non based aircraft and will operate up to 46 weekly departures to 22 destinations in summer 2024. Ryanair will also operate up to 13 weekly departures to 5 destinations for summer 2024. Other airlines include Vueling, KLM, Loganair, Aer Lingus and Balkan Holidays. The terminal has also been continually upgraded with the security area currently the latest area to be revamped for a better passenger experience. On the non-passenger side of the business BAMC is still active and maintains British Airways new generation of 777 and 787 aircraft providing 650 jobs for the area and Global Trek provides services for business aircraft, general aviation and military movements. The airport also sees testing for companies like Airbus and other maintenance type operations and operates St Athan airfield just down the road which has a successful maintenance and aircraft recycling operation and business park and there is the potential of a business park being developed next to the airport. This all provides a base for the airport to grow again and recover from the effects of losing 2 major airlines and the pandemic.
Having an international airport gives Wales as a country access to the world directly or indirectly to and from Wales itself via international hubs like Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. It allows its sporting teams to fly to international competitions directly from it and it allows tourism, business and international students to access a big part of the country directly without going via England or Ireland. The airport is at a low right now and has a job on its hands to regain a lot of its lost routes and flights and many former routes won’t ever return but with airlines like TUI, KLM and Ryanair it does still have the opportunity to grow and continue to serve Cardiff and Wales for another 70 years.
Current airlines and destinations
TUI
Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife, Dalaman, Antalya, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Bourgas, Alicante, Malaga, Larnaca, Paphos, Kos, Rhodes, Corfu, Menorca, Zante, Enfidha, Dubrovnik, Heraklion, Gran Canaria, Kefalonia, Reus, Barbados.
Ryanair
Dublin, Malaga, Faro, Alicante, Tenerife.
Vueling
Alicante, Malaga.
KLM
Amsterdam.
Loganair
Edinburgh.
Aer Lingus
Belfast City.
Balkan Holidays
Bourgas.
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