Airport News
Cardiff Airport aims to win back passengers as traffic numbers increase
Figures released by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) show Cardiff Airport passenger numbers have grown by 6% totalling 134,173 in July compared to the same month last year. This follows 9% growth in May and 10% growth in June, making an average growth of 8.3% for the three months.
The rise has been attributed to increased services from the Welsh airport’s low-cost Spanish airline, Vueling. The carrier has attracted customers from across South Wales, winning back passengers who have switched airports in recent years.
Jon Horne, chief executive of Cardiff Airport, said, “This is really positive news and it is great to see passenger numbers growing once again. It is a relatively small start, but we are confident there is a trend established and the beginning of our strategy to win back those passengers that have been lost to Bristol and other airports in England.
Cardiff’s airlines that showed the strongest growth were Vueling, Air Malta, and Aer Lingus. The increased schedule introduced by Vueling saw passenger growth climb rapidly over 2012 due to the new three times a week service to Malaga and Alicante. Barcelona also proved popular increasing over the same time last year.
“The challenge for us is straightforward, if we bring back the choice of flights, people will choose Cardiff again and this is what is happening. The point has been proved by Vueling, whose capacity has increased by 97% in 2013 compared to last year and people are responding to that choice,” Horne added.
The rolling year comparison shows passenger numbers rising over the million passenger mark for the period August 2012 to July 2013. Increases have also been recorded this month, with the first week in August seeing an increase of 17% over the same week in 2012.