One travel expert described Cardiff Airport’s location as “completely unsustainable” and suggested moving to another area. Independent travel correspondent Simon Calder said building an airport between Cardiff and Newport would “completely transform” Welsh aviation.

The journalist appeared on a BBC program in which former Welsh Chancellor of the Exchequer Ken Skates revealed that the Welsh government might have considered selling Cardiff Airport had it not been for the Covid pandemic. The government bought the airport for £52m in 2013 to “future-proof” it after passenger numbers plummeted, but it is now valued at just £15m.

Calder told Politics Wales that finding a viable business plan for Cardiff Airport “wasn’t easy”, adding: “As a nation, Wales needs an international airport and Cardiff is the obvious place to locate one. But I am very sorry that the current location is not entirely suitable and the solution would be something with good rail and road links, perhaps between Cardiff and Newport. This would completely change aviation in the country.”

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The BBC reports that the airport’s passenger numbers peaked at 2.1 million in 2007 and dropped to a million in 2012. In the years after the takeover, there has been a recovery to 1.7 million passengers, but Covid has hit hard. and the airport handled less than 860,000 passengers last year. passengers Several airlines, including WizzAir, have suspended operations in Cardiff.

Scates, from Labour, minister responsible for the airport between 2016 and 2021, said: “I have no doubt that if the covid had not happened we would be transporting two million passengers a year and we would be very competitive with other airports”. Asked whether the government might consider selling the airport, he said: “Yes, I think so.”

But Scates said he would continue to “advocate for the airport to remain on public property”. He added: “If you have an asset like that that’s making money for the public, you understandably don’t want to sell it.”

Since its takeover, the government has invested £158m in the airport and written off £42.6m of debt. Conservative Wales transport spokesperson Natasha Asghar told the BBC the government had “wasted taxpayers’ money” and should “sell the airport 100%, privatize it and find a good buyer”. He added: “I just don’t think this Welsh government has the business acumen to succeed.”

A Welsh government spokesman said: “Due to the pandemic, demand for air travel has dropped across the world. Despite this and the downturn in the UK economy, we are committed to supporting an airport in Wales. We have implemented a recovery package designed to make Cardiff Airport self-sufficient and profitable for the future.”

You can read more about the challenges facing Cardiff Airport here. And you can get the latest Wales travel news here.

Source: Wales Online