Should provision be made for a future rail link to Cardiff Airport?

[Envoy]

Cardiff had direct flights to Canada (Toronto) with Air Transat. I don't think that Bristol has ever had trans Atlantic flights - apart from a few for cruises. So, basically, Bristol only has flights to European destinations and can hardly be called a ‘gateway to the world’. At least when Cardiff had Qatar to Doha, it provided a staging place for onward travel to the far east & Australasia.

I fail to see why the likes of Easyjet can’t fly into Cardiff from a foreign base and then back out again - being as they are reluctant to set up shop at Cardiff?

It is rather ironic that the Welsh city with the best air links is Wrexham. (Manchester & Liverpool airports are relatively close and easy to reach). I also note that Liverpool airport seems to be doing rather well despite being relatively close to bigger Manchester. See:> https://www.liverpoolairport.com/flights/destinations/

Although Liverpool does not have a railway station at the terminal, is does have dual highways to almost the front door. Meanwhile, down in south Wales, there are plans to put a business park on the northern side of M4 J33 (Cardiff West). This is of course the junction that serves as the M4 hopping off place for Cardiff Airport and is already congested enough without having a business park on the northern side. If really needs flyovers connecting the M4 with the A4232.

 

[daodao]

Cardiff had direct flights to Canada (Toronto) with Air Transat. I don't think that Bristol has ever had trans Atlantic flights - apart from a few for cruises. So, basically, Bristol only has flights to European destinations and can hardly be called a ‘gateway to the world’. At least when Cardiff had Qatar to Doha, it provided a staging place for onward travel to the far east & Australasia.

Lulsgate aerodrome has a single runway, just 2,011 m (6,598 ft) in length. When the prevailing wind is from the southwest (70% of the time), 140 metres (460 ft) of this length is unavailable for use. It also has the slight disadvantage of being 190 m (622 ft) above sea level. It isn't suitable for long-haul flights at present, but is planning a 150 m (490 ft) runway extension within existing boundaries to support limited long-haul routes.

Rhoose aerodrome has a longer runway, 2,354 m (7,723 ft) in length, so it can handle larger planes and some long-haul routes. Its elevation is 67 m (220 ft) above sea level. However, in practice its location can't generate the potential passengers to support long-haul routes using big aeroplanes. The longer runway length does permit larger cargo aircraft to land and has enabled British Airways to use it as a maintenance base for its larger planes, which presumably brings in some income for the airport operator.

The most cost-effective way to enhance the public transport offering to Rhoose Airport and the Vale of Glamorgan would be to run 2 tph to Bridgend (leaving just 2 tph to Barry Island), run the bus connection from the airport to Rhoose station every 30 minutes and open a new station to serve St Athan.

 

[Caaardiff]

Cardiff had direct flights to Canada (Toronto) with Air Transat. I don't think that Bristol has ever had trans Atlantic flights - apart from a few for cruises. So, basically, Bristol only has flights to European destinations and can hardly be called a ‘gateway to the world’. At least when Cardiff had Qatar to Doha, it provided a staging place for onward travel to the far east & Australasia.

Bristol had a direct link to New York with Continental for several years using a 757. TUI and previously First Choice have provided flights to Orlando and Mexico, with more recently Orlando being direct with the 787.

Despite numbers growing and it still being in it's infancy, it seems Qatar Airways aren't interested in returning, so it couldn't have performed as well as people assume.

The thing with Cardiff Airport is over the past 10-15 it's had two major set backs, the previous private owners weren't interested in it until the Welsh Government bought it in 2013, despite being at it's highest numbers just a few years before. They were only interested in other Airports that were part of the Group, namely Luton and Belfast.
Up to then numbers were rising again (1.6m), then Covid hit.

Fast forward to now and things are stagnant, but some small growth is continually happening. TUI are providing more in summer 2025 and more importantly some extra flights in winter 2025/2026, which CWL has always historically struggled during Winter.
Ryanair are slowly growing, and it's still surprising they haven't at least picked up Majorca.
Aer Lingus flights to Belfast are always busy when passenger numbers are reviewed, it's expected they will add more frequencies.

Nothing on the scale of growth that some Airports have seen since Covid, but still growth. It doesn't seem like the Welsh Government has any interest in closing it, so it's got to continue on the path of growth in order to pay for itself. There are hundres of direct jobs, and probably thousands of direct and indirect jobs support by the Airport, so would be a huge blow economically if it were to close.
With the extra funding being given over the next 10 years, and a fair bit on investment already happened in the infrastructure, then I wouldn't be surprised if more flights come in 2026, or even 2025, although time is getting on for this summer. Airlines won't come unless there is incentives to.

 

[Western Lord]

Lulsgate aerodrome has a single runway, just 2,011 m (6,598 ft) in length. When the prevailing wind is from the southwest (70% of the time), 140 metres (460 ft) of this length is unavailable for use. It also has the slight disadvantage of being 190 m (622 ft) above sea level. It isn't suitable for long-haul flights at present, but is planning a 150 m (490 ft) runway extension within existing boundaries to support limited long-haul routes.

Rhoose aerodrome has a longer runway, 2,354 m (7,723 ft) in length, so it can handle larger planes and some long-haul routes. Its elevation is 67 m (220 ft) above sea level. However, in practice its location can't generate the potential passengers to support long-haul routes using big aeroplanes. The longer runway length does permit larger cargo aircraft to land and has enabled British Airways to use it as a maintenance base for its larger planes, which presumably brings in some income for the airport operator.

The most cost-effective way to enhance the public transport offering to Rhoose Airport and the Vale of Glamorgan would be to run 2 tph to Bridgend (leaving just 2 tph to Barry Island), run the bus connection from the airport to Rhoose station every 30 minutes and open a new station to serve St Athan.

Although Cardiff has a longer runway it is not well aligned for the prevailing winds.

 

[fishwomp]

But all operated independently for their own profitability and success, not run based on serving solely the region they belong in.

Generally, but not exclusively.

The Cardiff airport numbers are here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-68294274:

"It lost £4.5m in the year to March 2023 according to company accounts, after receiving a government grant of £5.3m."

So, strip out that loan and effectively it lost £10M.
The article continues:

"Welsh government ministers are currently supporting the airport through a grant worth £42.6m over four years."

"Over the years it has received millions in government loans. In 2021 Labour ministers wrote off a £42.6m loan they had given the airport, leaving it to repay £26.3m by 2045."

and from https://www.gov.wales/cardiff-airport-our-role:

"Since 2013, the Welsh Government has invested a total of £179.6 million in Cardiff Airport, made up of:

• acquisition and equity investments of £67.9 million
• loans of £69.8 million
• grants of £41.9 million"

Not "serving solely for the region it belongs in"? Airports on the Scottish islands would be a good exception! I'm basically considering that serving a region - unless it's a connections hub role too like Heathrow and Amsterdam etc - is exactly what an airport does, and it sometimes has competition from adjacent regions and even adjacent countries. I've flown to both Prague and Berlin to get to Dresden (back in the 2000s).

FWIW, In the case of Cardiff... from that gov.wales link - it's a mix - 'be profitable eventually' and help enterprise zones/local economy, and better travel options for Wales.

Our key priorities for the airport are to:

• support Cardiff Airport to recover from the impact of COVID-19 on the business and wider industry
• work with the UK Government and the Jet Zero initiative, as well as with Cardiff Airport, to reduce the environmental impacts of aviation
• develop Cardiff Airport to enable Welsh-based passengers to fly from closer to home
• operate to a high standard providing the best experience for passengers and airlines
• create an environment to encourage growth of airlines and commercial partners
• maximise the opportunity for the benefit of Wales’ economy and businesses
• achieve financial stability and operation of the airport
• continue to explore opportunities to better connect Cardiff and Wales with the rest of the UK and Europe
• support the St Athan-Cardiff Enterprise Zone

Potential investors in Wales want to see a thriving international airport for Wales. This will help us attract more business, inward investment and tourism.

Not sure what a "Welsh-based passenger" is.. ( "Wales-based" ) - a bad search and replace for "Welsh" in the initial draft perhaps.. It does achieve that, largely, for the south of Wales.

Then that last line ... do investors in Wales want a thriving international airport - or do they want convenient, frequent _access_ to good flight options .. - in which case Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham. North Wales isn't helped by a better Cardiff (but Cardiff can help South Wales to some extent).

The BBC article above does have a quote that resonates with posters in this thread:

Rather than just relying on passengers, Cardiff Airport is hoping to increase its income by making more use of its runway and land.

The accounts say that the decision of Wizz Air to close its operations in early 2023 reinforces "the need to ensure that dependence on passenger activities for the majority of revenues is reduced".

 

[Envoy]

I see that in the TFW FLIRT trains thread, that people are commenting on the slow introduction of these trains whilst at the same time, TFW are withdrawing some old 150’s rather than pay for an expensive service. This has led to the Vale of Glamorgan Coast Line via Rhoose (for Cardiff Airport) remaining at 1 train per hour and that these trains tend to be 2 coaches resulting in over crowding. This really is not good enough especially when one sees the high frequency of trains on other routes such as Pontypridd & Caerphilly.

Cardiff Airport are actually suggesting that rugby fans can avail themselves to the train service via the bus link to Rhoose station. Being as these infrequent & short trains can’t cope with normal flows, to encourage their use by rugby fans using flights is sheer madness by the Welsh Government owned airport.

Arriving passengers can take advantage of our official taxi service, FlightLink Wales, the local bus services that stop outside the terminal, or the rail shuttle bus to Rhoose Cardiff International Airport station, where they can hop on a train to connect with Cardiff City Centre, all on an integrated ticket system.

Transport for Wales has recently rolled out a pay as you go travel system at the Airport station, which means passengers can simply tap in at the beginning of each journey and tap out at their destination using their contactless card or device.