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Cardiff Airport Maes Awyr Caerdydd
IATA: CWL ICAO: EGFF
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Welsh Government
Operator	Cardiff Airport Ltd.
Serves	South Wales Mid Wales West Wales
Location	Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan
Opened	1 April 1954
Elevation AMSL	220 ft / 67 m
Coordinates	51°23′48″N 003°20′36″W / 51.39667°N 3.34333°W / 51.39667; -3.34333Coordinates: 51°23′48″N 003°20′36″W / 51.39667°N 3.34333°W / 51.39667; -3.34333
Website	cardiff-airport.com
Map
EGFF Location in the Vale of Glamorgan
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 12/30 2,354 7,723 Asphalt
Statistics (2017)
Passengers 1,464,000 Passenger change 16-17 12.6% Aircraft Movements 29,000 Movements change 16-17 10%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1] Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2]

Cardiff Airport (Welsh: Maes Awyr Caerdydd) (IATA: CWL, ICAO: EGFF) is the busiest airport in Wales and has been under the ownership of the Welsh Government since March 2013, operating at an arm's length as a commercial business. Passenger numbers were 1.464 million in 2017 and are increasing year-on-year.^[2]

Cardiff Airport is located near the village of Rhoose in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Company

On 27 March 2013, the Welsh Government announced it had purchased the Cardiff International Airport Ltd from TBI Ltd as a going concern for £52,000,000. Claims were made that this was a nationalisation, a private enterprise being acquired by the state, however the Welsh Government's First Minister, Rt.Hon Carwyn Jones AM, announced: "The Airport will not be operated by the Welsh Government. It will be managed at arm's length from Government on a commercial basis and, over time, I expect to see a return to the public purse on the investment."

In March 2015 it was confirmed that WRU Group Chief Executive Roger Lewis, would succeed Lord Rowe-Beddoe as chairman of Cardiff Airport on 1 November 2015,^[3] following the 2015 Rugby World Cup when he would stand down from the WRU.^[4]

Since 2013 Cardiff Airport has undergone a huge transformation with improvements made to the terminal, surrounding infrastructure, customer service standards and also the introduction of new routes. In June 2015 Europe's largest regional airline Flybe opened a two aircraft base at Cardiff (3 from March 2018). The airline now operates a busy flight network of 16 direct routes across the UK & Europe to destinations including Faro, Jersey, Dublin, Glasgow, Berlin, Venice, Munich, Verona, Rome, Edinburgh and Paris CDG.

History

British Airways Maintenance Centre, Cardiff Airport

Concorde outside British Airways Maintenance Cardiff (January 2002)

The history of the Airport extends back to the early 1940s, when the Air Ministry requisitioned land in the rural Vale of Glamorgan to set up a wartime satellite aerodrome and training base, named RAF Rhoose, for Royal Air Force (RAF) Spitfire pilots. Construction work commenced in 1941, and the airfield officially began life on 7 April 1942 when it was taken over by No 53 Operational Training Unit. After WW2 the airfield fell into disuse and was abandoned.

The man who decided Rhoose could be the site of a new Airport was David Rees-Williams (later Lord Ogmore) a Bridgend-born solicitor who had served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Artillery during the WW2 and who. in 1945, been elected MP for Croydon South. In 1951 Rees-Williams was appointed, briefly, Minister of Aviation and identified what he called a "great need for a commercial Airport of international standards" in South Wales. He later told the House of Lords "a decision had to be taken whether to do nothing at all (which was the desire of some) or whether Pengam Moors, the existing Airport for Cardiff, should be improved at a cost of some millions of pounds, involving the alteration of the course of the Rumney River or, thirdly, whether an entirely new Airport should be constructed or acquired in the vicinity of the capital of Wales."

Rees-Williams thought diverting the river at Pengam would be a problem, and feared that the tall chimney stacks of the nearby East Moors Steelworks could pose a safety hazard to aircraft. The Welsh Civil Aviation Consultative Committee then proposed he should look at the "abandoned Royal Air Force airfield at Rhoose" as a possible alternative. On inspecting it Rees-Williams found it "in a poor condition, with a large number of bombs stacked on the runways, and buildings in an extreme state of dilapidation". However he considered Rhoose could be suitable for civil aviation "if the necessary money and time were spent upon it". The Government accepted his proposal and the Ministry of Aviation promptly began converting the abandoned airfield into a civilian Airport. In October 1952 the new Rhoose Airport was opened by Rees-Williams's successor as Minister of Aviation Alan Lennox-Boyd.^[5]

Also in 1952 Aer Lingus started a service to Dublin. Civilian flights from the old Cardiff Municipal Airport at Pengam Moors were transferred to Rhoose on 1 April 1954. A new terminal building followed, along with flights to France, Belfast and Cork. An escalation in holiday charter business resulted in passenger throughout exceeding 100,000 in 1962.

On 1 April 1965 the Ministry of Aviation handed over the Airport to Glamorgan County Council and it was renamed Glamorgan (Rhoose) Airport.^[6] The council started a five-year plan to develop the Airport including a new control tower, terminal building and a runway extension.^[6]

In the 1970s, the supersonic airliner Concorde made a few flights into the Airport on special occasions. These were limited by the length of the runway, meaning it could only land lightly loaded, and only take off without passengers and with a minimal fuel load.

In the 1980s, its name was changed to 'Cardiff-Wales Airport'. 1986 saw a further extension of 750 ft (229 m) to the runway, costing in the region of £1 million, thus attracting more business to the Airport in the form of new-generation jet aircraft. Development of transatlantic links were made with charter flights to Florida, in addition to the previously-established links with Canada. The runway extension, enabling the Airport to handle 747 jumbo jets, was instrumental in attracting the British Airways (BA) Maintenance facility to the Airport. The maintenance hangar is one of the largest in the world at 250 m × 175 m (820 ft × 574 ft), providing heavy airframe and engineering maintenance for the British Airways fleet and third party carriers.

In April 1995, due to planned Local Government re-organisation in Wales, the Airport Company was privatised, with shares being sold to property and development firm, TBI plc, which has now been converted back to a private company called TBI Ltd (a subsidiary of Abertis and AENA International). TBI Ltd also controls Luton Airport, Stockholm Skavsta, Belfast International Airport, SABSTA (which owns three Bolivian Airports) and is concessionary to Orlando Sanford International Airport.

In December 1995, Heli-air Wales began training Helicopter Pilots from the Airport's southside, and are widely accredited with pioneering Helicopter Training in Wales. Heli-air Wales moved operations to Swansea Airport in 1999, and are still trading there to this day.

The Airport is not only the main maintenance base for British Airways but also home to a variety of aerospace-oriented firms and colleges, and therefore a major contributor to the economic development of the region.

The Airport was used by 2.1 million passengers in 2008, falling to around 1.3 million passengers in 2016, according to the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority, a reduction of nearly 50% since 2008, making it the 20th busiest airport in the UK in terms of passenger numbers.^[2]

The Airport was the main base for four local airlines; Cambrian Airways from 1935 to 1976, Airways International Cymru until the airline ceased operations in 1988, Inter European Airways until 1993 and Air Wales until the airline ceased scheduled operations in March 2006.

In 1996, Cardiff was one of the first airports Ryanair chose for its ‘no frills’ services using second-hand Boeing 737-200s on a short hop from Dublin. However, by 2006 the Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair withdrew from the Airport ending 5 years of service on the Cardiff to Dublin route daily. This was due to a very public falling out with the Airport over charges. On 15 May 2014 it was announced that Ryanair would return to the Airport after an absence of 8 years and now operates an all year, twice weekly service to Tenerife in addition to three seasonal routes for summer 2019.

Following a survey conducted by the Airport operator in 2008 as part of a campaign to attract additional business routes to the Airport, popular destinations such as Aberdeen, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Brussels and Scandinavian cities were identified as lacking a current link. The Airport planned to conduct up to 25 meetings with airlines during May and June 2008 to support the case for more routes.^[7]

On 2 March 2009 the Airport management revealed a name change for the Airport along with initial development plans to improve the image of the facility. Following a brand review involving consultation with a number of key stakeholders the name Cardiff Airport and Maes Awyr Caerdydd replaced Cardiff International Airport.^[8]

However, it emerged that the Airport had applied for £5 million of payments from the Welsh Assembly Government to deal with unspecified development at the terminal. This attracted immediate public criticism and requests that the Airport's owners, Abertis, match such an investment with a £6 million route development programme.^[9]

It was announced on 13 April 2011 that Bmibaby were to close their base at the Airport, along with their base at Manchester Airport in the following October in order to redeploy aircraft at their other bases, including the creation of a new operation at Belfast City Airport. The base closed on 30 October 2011. However, the airline soon ceased operations regardless.

It was announced on 28 October 2011, that Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling are to open a new route to Barcelona commencing 27 March 2012 operating the route three times per week. Just over a month later it was announced that Monarch were to serve Orlando Sanford Airport, Florida for the following summer, commencing the service on 28 May 2012. It operated on behalf of its own holiday wing, Monarch Holidays, and its partner company Cosmos. This was the first time in 4 years that there was a direct charter connection to the United States. Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomson Airways have regular seasonal flights to Florida and the Caribbean.

On 16 May 2012, it was announced that Airport Managing Director, Patrick Duffy, had left his position amid mounting pressure from the Welsh Government on the Airport owners Abertis to improve the state of the Airport and improve the services it offers, or sell the facility to an investor in a proposed public-private partnership. It is unclear as to why exactly Duffy left his position after four years.^[10] On 18 December 2012 it was announced that the Welsh Government was interested in buying the Airport from its current owners.^[11] It was announced on 27 March 2013 that the Welsh Government had purchased Cardiff Airport for £52 million.^[12]

In March 2013, the Welsh Government began the process of acquiring Cardiff Airport from TBI/Abertis, who considered divesting from all of their Airport assets following international criticism of their management of these resources.^[13] The deal was officially announced on 27 March 2013, that the Airport would be bought back into public ownership for the sum of £52 Million.

Cardiff Airport has also had several problems with wild fly-grazing horses^[14] around the airfield and the Redwings Sanctuary in Norfolk were needed to assist in the rescue of 23 unclaimed horses that had been left on the site.^[15]

In June 2015 a major deal was signed with Flybe which saw the opening of a two aircraft base for their Embraer 195 jet aircraft which a considerable number of new routes, this deal saw the end of Cityjet flights from the airport. Flybe also announced in 2016 that it would link Cardiff with London City Airport through a temporary route from 12 September 2016 until 21 October 2016 due to the temporary closure of the Severn Tunnel.^[16] But due to its popularity when it was a temporary service, Flybe decided the service would continue into London City Airport as a regular flight.^[17] However, on 9 August 2017, Flybe announced the service will be terminated and the last flight was on 27 October 2017.^[18]

In April 2017, Qatar Airways announced their plans to launch of a new service from Cardiff Airport, linking Wales and the West of England to Doha.^[19] It announced that Cardiff Airport as the only new planned UK route in its network for 2018 although the resumption of Qatar Airways flights from the middle east to London-Gatwick was also later confirmed.^[20]

Criticism by First Minister

In 2012, the Airport faced sustained criticism from the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones. On 28 February 2012, Jones told the Welsh Assembly, "We would like to see many routes emerging from Cardiff Airport, but the Airport must get its act together... Last week, I went to the Airport and the main entrance was shut. People could not go in through the main entrance; they had to go through the side entrance. It is important that the Airport puts itself in a position where it is attractive to new airlines, and, unfortunately, that is not the case at present." His criticism led to accusations that he was "talking down" Cardiff Airport whilst aviation industry professionals commented he was out of his depth in this area. However Jones returned to this theme on 7 March 2012 saying, "With the condition of the Airport at the moment I would not want to bring people in through Cardiff Airport because of the impression it would give of Wales...I have to say the time has come now for the owners of the Airport to decide to run the Airport properly or sell it." Byron Davies, Shadow Minister for Transport, said: "It is a bit rich for the First Minister to publicly attack and run down Cardiff Airport, when he has failed to seize opportunities, which would massively increase the range of routes available from Cardiff, introduce direct routes to North America, opening our economy to trade and business with one of the world's biggest economies".^[21]Liberal Democrats spokesperson, Eluned Parrott, said: "The First Minister needs to stop talking our capital city's Airport down and instead he should be doing all he can to encourage visitors to Cardiff Airport. His comments are hardly going to encourage tourism and business to Wales."^[22]

The First Minister's criticism was roundly rejected by Alex Cruz, chief executive of Vueling – a Spanish airline which operates regular flights from Cardiff. Cruz said "We are more than satisfied with Cardiff Airport. We would not fly into an Airport that we did not feel was suitable for our customers."^[23] However, on 20 March 2012 Jones again criticised Cardiff Airport saying "business people" had complained to him "week after week, for many months about the Airport." He asserted he had put their points to the owners of the Airport but "they have been met with a shrug of the shoulders. That is just not good enough. I know of situations, and have seen them myself, where people have been locked in the baggage hall and where the front door was not open and people had to go in through a side door—I had to do that the last time I used the Airport."^[24]

On 29 May 2012 it was announced that Jones would personally chair a "Task Force" on Cardiff Airport with the aim of "maximising its economic impact, commercially and for Wales".^[25] On 27 June 2012, the Task Force, comprising tourist chiefs, local government spokesmen and trade unionists, met for the first time. No airlines were invited to attend.^[26] A bid to obtain the full minutes of the meeting under the Freedom of Information Act was refused by the Information Commissioner^[27]

Figures from the UK Civil Aviation Authority showed that the number of passengers passing through Cardiff Airport fell to 1 Million in 2012.^[28] However, passenger numbers are increasing steadily and, as of 2017, show a recovery to pre-2010 levels.

Infrastructure

On 29 March 2006, a £100 million development strategy was announced for extending the current terminal and upgrading to the main body of the building. It was anticipated that the investment would attract up to five million passengers by 2015 – an increase of 150% – according to the airport's published response to a UK Government White paper on the future of air transport throughout the United Kingdom.^[29]

Costing around £3m, half funded by the Welsh Government, extensive refurbishment is expected starting with the redevelopment of the front of the Airport terminal and approach areas.^[30] The development works include an extension to the front of the terminal linking the arrivals and departures halls into one large common area, providing new food and retail services. As part of the work the first floor of the terminal will become 'airside' as the security control point to access the departures lounge is relocated to the first floor, above the existing arrivals hall and accessed through the new extension. The approach area in front of the terminal building will also be redesigned and landscaped.^[31] Subsequently, it emerged that Cardiff Airport was seeking £5 million from Welsh taxpayers,^[9] without specifying what works might be carried out.

In October 2017 it was announced that works costing £4 million would take place to upgrade the terminal by expanding the departures area with increased seating and increased retail space and expand the executive lounge. Outside the terminal a new meet and greet parking facility and a new car hire terminal would be built. Work started October 2017.^[32]

Operations

Cardiff Airport is the only airport in Wales that offers international scheduled flights and is also served by scheduled, low-fare, business and charter carriers. It also supports corporate and general aviation.

On 21 February 2007 the airport announced that it would host the first Public Service Obligation (PSO) service to be operated in Wales.^[33] This Welsh Government subsidised service is currently operated by Flybe using its franchise partner Eastern Airways with daily flights to the Isle of Anglesey.

Most international destinations from Cardiff are to other countries in Europe, including Germany, Greece, and Spain. Qatar Airways announced in April 2017 that it would begin service to Doha in May 2018, using the Boeing 787 aircraft. It is now the first long-haul service from Cardiff for many years following the demise of Zoom Airlines.^[34]

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled, charter flights, domestic and international flights to and from Cardiff:^[35]

General aviation

The airport was home for many years to a number of flying clubs and small general aviation operators. These included the Cambrian and Pegasus Flying Clubs and later (from the mid-1980s) the Cardiff Wales Flying Club. In 2010, a new flying school was set up by the company Aeros. They (as of 2012) have a fleet including Cessna 152s and Piper Warriors; they are based in the White Building on the south side of the airfield. There is a small cafe in the White Building that offers facilities for private aircraft owners.

Dragonfly Executive Air Charter operate three Beechcraft King Air 200 series aircraft. The company office is based on the south side of the airfield.

Traffic and statistics

Passenger figures

Cardiff Airport Passenger Totals 1997–2017 (millions)

Updated: 16 March 2018.[2]

	Number of Passengers[41]	Percentage Change	Number of Movements[42]
1997	1,155,186	–	60,724
1998	1,263,225	09.4%	65,597
1999	1,330,277	05.3%	63,740
2000	1,519,920	12.5%	64,298
2001	1,543,782	01.6%	67,624
2002	1,425,436	08.3%	49,115
2003	1,919,231	37.6%	48,590
2004	1,887,621	01.7%	43,023
2005	1,779,208	05.7%	43,040
2006	2,024,428	12.7%	42,055
2007	2,111,148	04.3%	43,963
2008	1,994,892	05.6%	37,123
2009	1,631,236	18.2%	27,003
2010	1,404,613	13.9%	25,645
2011	1,208,268	13.6%	29,130
2012	1,013,386	16.1%	26,842
2013	1,072,062	04.3%	24,879
2014	1,023,932	04.7%	25,864
2015	1,160,506	13.3%	25,077
2016	1,347,483	16.1%	26,256
2017	1,465,227	08.7%	28,934
Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority[2]

Busiest routes

Busiest routes to and from Cardiff (2017)^[43]

Rank	Airport	Total passengers	Change 2016 / 17
1	Amsterdam	134,095	0.7%
2	Palma de Mallorca	112,069	2.8%
3	Alicante	105,488	12.9%
4	Dublin	100,973	8.5%
5	Edinburgh	99,369	5.4%
6	Tenerife–South	88,884	13.1%
7	Málaga	87,198	5.6%
8	Paris–Charles de Gaulle	60,820	12.4%
9	Faro	57,066	51.2%
10	Belfast–City	51,303	17.5%
11	Lanzarote	46,031	3.7%
12	Ibiza	32,534	7.5%
13	Milan–Malpensa	31,133	21.6%
14	Glasgow	28,919	23.3%
15	Barcelona–El Prat	25,664	11.4%
16	Dalaman	20,869	20.1%
17	Menorca	23,064	9.4%
18	London City	21,500	73.0%
19	Zakynthos	20,968	1.8%
20	Rome-Fiumicino	20,211	New Route

Ground transport

Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station

Cardiff Airport Express at Cardiff Central Bus Station

The nearest railway station is Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station on the Vale of Glamorgan Line. The station is linked by rail linc buses to the departures terminal. The airport terminal itself has National Rail code XCF and through tickets are available from railway stations. Transport for Wales provide an hourly service from Merthyr Tydfil (via Cardiff Central) and Bridgend.

From 1 August 2013, TrawsCymru has operated the "Cardiff Airport Express" (Welsh: Gwennol Maes Awyr Caerdydd) from Cardiff Airport to Cardiff City centre with railway connections. The T9 service with leather seats runs on a 20-minute schedule and offers customers free wifi.^[44]

10 miles (16 km) from the M4 junction 33 (Cardiff West), the airport is reached via the A4232, exiting at Culverhouse Cross and following the A4050 to Barry and then the A4226 towards Llantwit Major. From the west, leave at junction 37 Pyle, to join the A48 past Cowbridge and south on the A4226. There is a direct unmarked route from M4 junction 34 (Miskin) following the lanes though Hensol and at Sycamore Cross (A48) continuing on the A4226 to the airport.

Road access to the airport by way of the A48 was the subject of a public inquiry in 2006 but this is now superseded by needs of the forthcoming Defence Training Academy at MoD St Athan, the bid for which included plans for a direct St Athan and airport link to the M4. With the growth in usage of the airport, traffic along the current access roads has become more acute leading the Welsh Assembly Government to commission a study on improving road access to the Airport. The consultants suggested three possible schemes:

1. Widening the A4232 to three lanes between M4 Junction 33 and Culverhouse. A bypass would have been built connecting the A4232 directly to the A4050 to avoid the busy Culverhouse Cross roundabout.


2. Constructing a new bypass road to link the A4232 directly to the A48 (Tumble Hill) before Culverhouse Cross. Airport traffic would then have travelled to Sycamore Cross then join the A4226 to the Airport. Improvements will be made to allow speeds to increase.


3. Directing traffic from Junction 34 (Miskin) to Sycamore Cross then onto the A4226 to the airport. Improvements would have been made to the route with new straighter sections added.

Airport management favoured the third option, claiming that it would have eased pressure on the A4232 and provide better access from South West Wales, the South Wales Valleys and Mid Wales, but in June 2009, the National Assembly for Wales announced that the plans for any new road would be dropped in favour of increased public transport frequency by rail and bus.^[45][46]

See also

• Transport in Wales


• Transport in Cardiff

References

External links

Media related to Cardiff Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website