E
arly-morning departures to the
Netherlands and Scotland are
visible signs of a growing success
story at Cardiff Airport. The KLM
Cityhopper Fokker 70 heading to Amsterdam
and an Edinburgh-bound Flybe Embraer 195
herald the start of a working day which will
see up to 40 scheduled and charter ights.
These ights at around 6am are part of
a surge helping Cardiff become possibly
the fastest growing UK airport – in terms of
passenger percentage increase – during- There was a 16% rise over the
previous year. Data from other airports is
not yet available. Traffic in December 2016
was up 13% year-on-year, thanks to a strong
Christmas, particularly by Flybe, Vueling,
KLM and Thomson Airways.
Cardiff Airport is recovering from a
troubled period. People using it declined
from two million in 2006 and 2007 to
just over one million ve years later. The
turning point came in 2013 when the Welsh
Government took control, paying £52m to
previous owners, TBI Ltd and the Spanish
infrastructure group, Abertis Infraestructuras
SA. Figures are now rising month on month.
An annual total of 1.5 million could soon be
a reality.
A combination of factors led to the
huge drop in passengers. Low-cost carrier
bmibaby’s withdrawal from the airport – prior
to its eventual demise – was a big blow. It
established a base at Cardiff in October 2002and new routes grew the facility’s numbers
by 500,000 per annum, using up to the three
based Boeing 737-300s. It withdrew from
three routes in January 2011 before closing
its base in April. The company shut down in
September 2012.
It could have been different for Cardiff if a
decision made in 2002 had been reversed.
The perennial, and on-going, competition
between Cardiff and Bristol airports – only
a few miles apart across the mouth of the
River Severn – where Bristol received ights
from BA’s Go low-fare unit while Cardiff had
bmibaby. Go was purchased by easyJet in
October 2002 and massive growth followed
at the North Somerset airport.
The nancial crisis of 2007/8 and beyond
impacted all air travel. Cardiff with its smaller
and less affluent market base suffered
more than many. Revenues fell and AbertisCARDIFF AIRPORT
RISING FORTUNESRISING FORTUNES
Cardiff Airport is booming after a spell in the doldrums.
Geoff Jones explains what’s driving the turnaround.
56 Aviation News incorporating Jets March 2017Main photo: Flybe is the dominant carrier
at Cardiff Airport, operating the Embraer
195 and Dash 8-Q400 (pictured), since
establishing a base there in 2015. All photos
Geoff Jones unless stated56-60_cardiffDC.mfDC.mf.indd 56 01/02/2017 18:25