Airport close to a million passengers as numbers rise

CARDIFF Airport has reported a slight rise in annual passenger numbers as it edges closer to the one million mark.

- SION BARRY

The Rhoose-based airport, which is wholly-owned by the Welsh Government but operates as an at-arm'slength business, said that in the year to the end of September it handled 928,000 passengers - up 5.3% on the previous year.

However, the airport is still below its pre-pandemic annual passenger number of 1.6 million. As part of its pandemic recovery plan it has forecast to get back to that figure by 2026, but that is now unlikely to be achieved. The airport said the increase in passengers over the past year reflects growing confidence from key airline partners including TUI and Ryanair, both of whom have expanded operations.