The end of April 2019 marked an important milestone for Wales’ national airport in terms of passenger growth. Over the last 12 months, more than 1.6 million passengers have flown through Cardiff Airport, reflecting an increase of 7% versus 2018. This is the busiest year since 2009.
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Passenger growth for the month of April was up 20% versus the same month last year, with Cardiff Airport welcoming 126,399 total passengers, reflecting the Airport’s position as not only a point of departure, but also as a key international gateway for visitors to the UK.
Passenger numbers at Cardiff Airport have grown by over 60% since Welsh Government purchased the Airport in 2013.
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Growth in April was due to a number of factors:
- Low-cost carrier Ryanair added new services to Barcelona and Malta, complementing its existing flights to Faro and Tenerife. The airline will also launch flights to Malaga in June
- Thomas Cook added a larger A321 aircraft to its base at Cardiff and started its summer schedule earlier, adding a new route to Enfidha (Tunisia)
- Qatar Airways operated its first April at Cardiff, as it neared the 1st anniversary of connecting Wales and the South West to over 160 worldwide destinations via its hub in Doha. At the end of April a Welsh Government multi sector trade mission departed to Qatar aiming to increase trade between the two countries
- TUI added extra cruise flights to Barbados during April. The airline has also launched new routes to Naples, Dubrovnik and Hurghada for Summer 2019.
April’s most popular destinations included Alicante, Tenerife, Edinburgh, Malaga, Palma and Belfast, as well as hubs such Amsterdam, Doha, Paris and Dublin which offer passengers the ability to connect to worldwide destinations.
Deb Barber, CEO at Cardiff Airport said “We are delighted to have reached this passenger milestone after what has been a transformational 12 months, and our busiest period in over 10 years.
“April’s figures show another strong month of passenger growth, with passengers jetting off to destinations across the world, and our airline partners reacting to increased customer demand by adding new routes and extra capacity.
“2019 is set to be another exciting year and we look forward to a busy summer season.”
Cardiff Airport continues to make improvements to the terminal and the customer experience by recently launching new e-passport gates, an improved security search area and a re-configuration of the car parks, including a park and ride service from the newly opened off-site car parks.
