‘Cardiff airport doesn’t have a USP’ says expert as losses continue at Welsh hub

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The way forward for Cardiff airport seems bleak, an expert has mentioned, as losses at the Welsh gateway continue.

The airport, southwest of the capital, continues to make losses as it struggles to draw passengers again to pre-pandemic ranges.

The key long-haul hyperlink with Doha on Qatar Airways was lower at the beginning of the Covid disaster and has not returned.

Losses totalled £4.5 million within the 12 months to March 2023, with the Welsh authorities making a grant of £5.3 million.

Sean Moulton, a main aviation analyst, advised The Independent: “When Bristol airport is nearby, with many low-cost flights, and a lot of Wales is served by Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester airports, Cardiff doesn’t have a USP [unique selling proposition].”

While virtually each UK airport grew in 2023 in contrast with a 12 months earlier, the newest figures from the Civil Aviation Authority present a slight drop at Cardiff – with solely 837,000 passengers utilizing the airport.

London Heathrow handles extra passengers in simply 4 days.

Over the previous 20 years, passenger numbers at Cardiff have roughly halved, whereas Bristol airport now handles about twice as many.

Cardiff Airport’s boss, Spencer Birns, advised Wales Online: “We know Ryanair are adding two routes with Tenerife and Alicante for the summer and we are in talks with them about what extra they could do for next winter.

“We also have extra capacity coming online on the Loganair route to Edinburgh with a larger aircraft which gives us extra capacity, while Tui is adding around 12,000 extra holidays out of Cardiff as well.”

But the one key European hyperlink, on KLM from Cardiff to Amsterdam, is to be in the reduction of from three every day to only two per day, with the early morning departure from the Welsh airport eliminated.

Mr Moulton mentioned: “This shows how tough Cardiff have got it.”

Mr Birns expressed hope that the Doha hyperlink would return: ““For Wales to have the Qatar Airways service back would be fantastic and reintroducing connectivity into the Middle East, south-east Asia and Australia where there is high demand. There is a commercial negotiation taking place between us. We are working with the airline on a resumption as soon as possible.”

Any deal is prone to embrace some monetary help for the route.

The Independent has requested the Welsh authorities, which owns Cardiff airport, for a response.