UK airport gets £206m boost despite losses it aims for two million passengers every year

Cardiff Airport will soon be injected with over £206 million to boost passenger numbers and improve facilities, the economy minister has announced - despite losing millions of pounds in the last financial year.

Welsh Labour Assembly Member Ken Stakes says that the airport would aim to serve two million passengers a year and develop its maintenance, cargo and sustainable aviation facilities as part of the ten-year funding deal.

The airport has been in public ownership since 2013 but Mr Skates said it would be for its management to spend the money “with commercial freedom”.

But the Conservatives said Welsh people had been “well and truly fleeced” by the Labour government’s “vanity project”.

The Welsh Government said that its new investment in the airport would boost jobs and the wider economy. However, the plan will require approval from the Competition and Markets Authority.

It would be “classed as a subsidy of particular interest under the UK subsidy regime", Mr Skates said.

Since the Welsh government acquired Cardiff Airport in 2013, it has received tens of millions of pounds in loans and grants.

The total existing expenditure amounts to £179.6 million, covering the original purchase price, Covid loans, and funds for improvements and equipment.

According to company accounts, the airport lost £4.5 million in the year up to March 2023.

A new commitment to provide £206 million over the next ten years has been announced, following the conclusion of the government’s three-year Covid rescue package.

Mr Skates said Cardiff Airport was "a vital element of Wales’ economic infrastructure" which contributed £200m to the economy every year.

He said: "The airport, along with the neighbouring Bro Tathan business park, are at the nexus of the cluster of successful aviation and aerospace businesses in the region.

"It provides a gateway into Wales for tourists, investors and the many thousands of visitors that come each year to enjoy the numerous sporting, cultural, business and trade events hosted in and around the capital."

Mr Skates said targeting the new routes for airlines could see annual passenger numbers "increase to just over two million" within the next decade.

Cardiff Wales Airport Chief Executive Spencer Birns welcomed the move, adding: "This investment would enable us to continue providing economic benefits, creating more jobs across our country, being a gateway to the UK and Wales, and ensuring global connectivity.

“The airport currently facilitates more than 4,000 aviation-related jobs in the Vale of Glamorgan, by ensuring safe and secure airport operations at both Cardiff and St Athan, and typically drives over £200m of economic benefit to Wales annually."

He described the airport as "a national asset", saying 98 percent of airports around the world are owned by the communities they serve.