Cardiff Airport

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Cardiff Airport Maes Awyr Caerdydd
IATA: CWL – ICAO: EGFF
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		TBI plc
Operator		Cardiff Airport Ltd.
Serves		Cardiff South Wales Mid Wales West Wales
Location		Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan
Elevation AMSL		220 ft / 67 m
Coordinates		51°23′48″N 003°20′36″W / 51.39667°N 3.34333°W / 51.39667; -3.34333 (Cardiff Airport)
Website		www.tbicardiffairport.com
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
12/30	2,392	7,848	Asphalt
Statistics (2008)
Total movements			37,123
Passengers			1,994,892
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1] Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2]

Cardiff Airport (Welsh: Maes Awyr Caerdydd) (IATA: CWL, ICAO: EGFF) is the international airport for Wales serving Cardiff and the rest of South, Mid and West Wales. Around 2 million passengers pass through the airport each year.

It is located in the village of Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan, 12 mi (19 km) west^[3] of the city centre of Cardiff, the country's largest city and capital.

As the only airport in Wales offering international scheduled flights (Anglesey Airport offers a scheduled flight to Cardiff), Cardiff Airport is owned by TBI plc and served by scheduled, low-fare, business and charter carriers, and also supports corporate and general aviation. The majority of international flights are to Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands with the most popular being Alicante, Amsterdam, Palma de Mallorca. The most popular domestic service within the UK is to Edinburgh. There are also some transatlantic charter flights to the USA and the Caribbean.^[4]

The airport is a hub for bmibaby, which is the largest scheduled airline at the airport, with Aer Arann, flybe, Thomson Airways and Thomas Cook Airlines all having a large presence with Cardiff as a focus city, although Flybe have expressed their intentions to become the largest airline at the airport by 2011 focussing on the business and short leisure break sectors.^[5]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Future 1.2 Public Service Obligation Flights 2 Statistics 3 Airlines and destinations 3.1 Scheduled services 3.2 Charter services 4 Transport links 4.1 Public transport 4.2 By road 5 Executive aviation 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] History

The history of the airport extends back to the early 1940s, when the Air Ministry requisitioned land in the rural Vale of Glamorgan to set up a wartime satellite aerodrome and training base, named RAF Rhoose, for Royal Air Force (RAF) Spitfire pilots. Construction work commenced in 1941, and the airfield officially began life on 7 April 1942 when it was taken over by No 53 Operational Training Unit. The commercial potential of the runway was recognised in the early 1950s with Aer Lingus starting a service to Dublin in 1952. A new terminal building followed, along with flights to France, Belfast and Cork. An escalation in holiday charter business resulted in passenger throughput exceeding 100,000 in 1962.

In the 1970s, the airport, originally known as 'Rhoose Airport', was renamed 'Glamorgan, Rhoose Airport'. Around this time the supersonic airliner Concorde made a few flights into the airport on special occasions. These were limited by the length of the runway, meaning it could only land lightly loaded, and only take off without passengers and with a minimal fuel load. In the 1980s, its name was changed to 'Cardiff-Wales Airport'.

1986 saw a further extension of 750 feet (229 m) to the runway, costing in the region of £1 million, thus attracting more business to the airport in the form of new-generation jet aircraft. Development of transatlantic links were made with charter flights to Florida, in addition to the previously-established links with Canada. The runway extension, enabling the airport to handle 747 jumbo jets, was instrumental in attracting the British Airways (BA) Maintenance facility to the airport. The maintenance hangar is one of the largest in the world at 250 m x 175 m (820 ft x 574 ft), providing heavy airframe and engineering maintenance for the British Airways fleet and third party carriers.

In April 1995, due to planned Local Government re-organisation in Wales, the Airport Company was privatised, with shares being sold to property and development firm, TBI plc, now a subsidiary of abertis airports.

The airport is not only the main maintenance base for British Airways but also home to a variety of aerospace-oriented firms and colleges, and therefore a major contributor to the economic development of the region.

The airport was used by over 2.1 million passengers in 2007, according to the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority, an annual growth rate of 4.3%, making it the 19th largest airport in the UK in terms of passenger numbers.

The airport was the main base for three local airlines; Cambrian Airways from 1935 to 1976, Airways International Cymru until the airline ceased schedules operations in 1988, and Air Wales until the airline ceased scheduled operations in March 2006.

Flybe has completed the installation of three new self service electronic check-in kiosks at the airport, offering passengers an additional choice at check-in. Flybe is the first airline to invest in this technology at the airport.

On 2 March 2009 the airport management revealed a name change for the airport along with initial development plans to improve the image of the facility. Following a brand review involving consultation with a number of key stakeholders the name Cardiff Airport and Maes Awyr Caerdydd will replace Cardiff International Airport.^[6]

Servisair announced on 2 April 2009 that they are to cease their operations at the airport as of 31 May blaming it on a decrease in operating schedules from charter airlines hence making it no longer financially viable. As a result all airlines currently operating from the airport will continue to do operate but instead use the only alternative handling agent, Aviance.^[7]

[edit] Future

A new airline was mooted as a new home carrier at the airport. If it was launched, Flyforbeans said they would operate to France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Eastern Europe. The airline intended to have routes currently unavailable from the airport. Flyforbeans indicated that it intended to begin operations in mid-2008, with 3 Boeing 737 aircraft serving up to twelve destinations in total.^[8]

Following a survey conducted by the airport operator in 2008 as part of a campaign to attract additional business routes to the airport, popular destinations such as Aberdeen, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Brussels and Scandinavia were identified as lacking a current link. The airport planned to conduct up to 25 meetings with airlines during May and June 2008 to support the case for more routes. ^[9]

Airport management announced, on 29 March 2006 a £100 million development strategy which will see the current terminal being extended, as well as upgrades to the main body of the building.

It is anticipated that the investment will attract up to five million passengers by 2015 - an increase of 150% - according to the airport's published response to a UK Government White paper on the future of air transport throughout the United Kingdom.^[10]

Road access to the airport by way of the A48 trunk road was the subject of a public inquiry in 2006 but this is now superseded by needs of the forthcoming Defence Training Academy at MoD St Athan, the bid for which included plans for a direct St Athan and airport link to the M4 motorway.

Extensive works on the facility will begin from October 2009, costing around £3m, starting with the redevelopment of the front of the airport terminal and approach areas. The arrivals and departures halls will be linked together, providing upgraded duty-free and retail operations. This phase is expected to be completed in July 2010,^[11] well in advance of the Ryder Cup in October 2010.

[edit] Public Service Obligation Flights

On 21 February 2007 the airport announced that the airport would see the first Public Service Obligation (PSO) service to be operated in Wales.^[12] Inverness based airline Highland Airways would fly several services each day between Anglesey Airport and Cardiff. BAe Jetstream 31 aircraft were allocated to the route and it was hoped it would provide a quicker alternative to commuters travelling between North and South Wales, who otherwise rely on the A470 road or rail. The PSO service would be subsidised by the Welsh Assembly Government for three years; after this period, the route must be completely viable to continue. In May, the Anglesey service was claimed as a success, with over 1,000 seats being booked on the service within weeks of its announcement. There are options for up to 10 flights a day.^[13]

[edit] Statistics

Number of Passengers[14] Number of Movements[15] 1997 1,155,186 18,171 1998 1,263,225 17,537 1999 1,330,277 17,656 2000 1,519,920 20,196 2001 1,543,782 21,764 2002 1,425,436 18,736 2003 1,919,231 21,231 2004 1,887,621 21,993 2005 1,779,208 20,553 2006 2,024,428 21,872 2007 2,111,148 23,117 2008 1,994,892 23,481 Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority[16]

20 Busiest Current Routes out of Cardiff Airport (2008)

Rank	Airport	Passengers handled	2007-2008 Change	Airlines that serve(d)
1	Netherlands - Amsterdam Airport Schiphol	193,682	▼14%	Bmibaby, KLM
2	Spain - Palma de Mallorca Airport	169,367	▼1%	Bmibaby, Thomas Cook, Thomson Airways
3	United Kingdom - Edinburgh Airport	162,556	▲2%	Bmibaby, Flybe
4	Spain - Alicante Airport	150,891	▼6%	Bmibaby, Thomson Airways
5	Spain - Malaga Airport	139,274	▼7%	Bmibaby, Thomson Airways
6	United Kingdom - Glasgow Airport	83,986	▲9%	Bmibaby, Flybe
7	Portugal - Faro Airport	74,910	▲2%	Bmibaby, Thomson Airways
8	Ireland - Dublin Airport	72,781	▲7%	Aer Arann
9	Spain - Tenerife South Airport	64,895	▼8%	Thomas Cook, Thomson Airways
10	Turkey - Dalaman Airport	57,738	▲4%	Onur Air, Thomas Cook, Thomson Airways
11	United Kingdom - Belfast International Airport	52,283	▼44%	Bmibaby
12	France - Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport	48,460	▲28%	Flybe
13	Spain - Ibiza Airport	46,576	▲6%	Thomas Cook, Thomson Airways
14	Spain - Las Palmas Airport	42,316	▲35%	Thomas Cook, Thomson Airways
15	Cyprus - Paphos International Airport	42,239	▲27%	Thomas Cook, Thomson Airways
16	United Kingdom - Belfast City Airport	40,673	▲227%	Flybe
17	Spain - Lanzarote Airport	37,599	▼35%	Thomas Cook, Thomson Airways
18	Spain - Murcia Airport	34,131	▲13%	Bmibaby
19	United Kingdom - Newcastle Airport	31,516	▲95%	Eastern Airways, Flybe
20	Turkey - Milas-Bodrum Airport	29,170	▲24%	Onur Air, Thomas Cook, Thomson Airways
Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority [3]

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] Scheduled services

Airlines	Destinations
Aer Arann	Cork, Dublin
Bmibaby	Alicante, Barcelona [seasonal], Belfast-International, Edinburgh, Faro, Geneva [seasonal], Glasgow-International [restarts 25 October], Grenoble [begins 19 December; seasonal], Jersey, Málaga, Mahón [seasonal], Murcia [seasonal], Palma [seasonal]
Eastern Airways	Newcastle
Flybe	Belfast-City, Edinburgh, Glasgow-International, Jersey [seasonal], Newcastle, Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Flybe operated by Loganair	Aberdeen
Highland Airways	Anglesey
KLM operated by KLM Cityhopper	Amsterdam
Thomson Airways	Alicante, Faro [seasonal], Ibiza [seasonal], Málaga, Palma [seasonal]

[edit] Charter services

Airlines	Destinations
Air Malta	Malta
BH Air	Burgas, Varna
Eurocypria Airlines	Larnaca
Onur Air	Dalaman
Saga Airlines	Bodrum
Thomas Cook Airlines	Antalya, Arrecife, Bodrum, Dalaman, Faro, Fuerteventura, Heraklion, Ibiza, Larnaca, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Mahón, Monastir [begins 1 November], Palma, Paphos, Reus, Rhodes, Sharm el-Sheikh [begins 6 November], Tenerife-South, Zakynthos
Thomson Airways	Alicante, Antalya [begins 4 May], Arrecife, Bodrum, Burgas, Chambéry, Corfu, Dalaman, Faro, Girona [ends 6 October], Heraklion, Ibiza, Innsbruck, Kefalonia, Kos, Larnaca, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, La Romana, Málaga, Mahón, Monastir [begins 2 May], Palma, Paphos, Reus, Rhodes, Sharm el-Sheikh, Tenerife-South, Verona, Zakynthos

[edit] Transport links

[edit] Public transport

The nearest railway station to the airport is Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station on the Vale of Glamorgan Line, linked by a free shuttle bus to the departures terminal. Arriva Trains Wales provides regular services to Cardiff Central Station and Bridgend, connecting it to the South Wales Main Line.

Cardiff Bus, EST Buses and Veolia Transport Cymru buses serve the airport and provide regular shuttle services to Cardiff central bus station and the Vale of Glamorgan.

[edit] By road

The airport is 10 miles (16 km) from the M4 and is signposted. From M4 junction 33 (Cardiff West), it is reached via the A4232 (towards Central Cardiff) exiting at Culverhouse Cross, and then following the A4050 to Barry and finally the A4226 towards Llantwit Major. Another signposted route from the M4, from West Wales, is from Junction 37 near Pyle, which follows the A48 past Cowbridge then south along the A4226. However, there is a direct unmarked route from M4 Junction 34 (Miskin), following the country lane though Hensol, then at the crossroads (Sycamore Cross) with the A48, continuing along the A4226 to the airport.

With the growth in usage of the airport, traffic along the current access roads has become more acute leading to the Welsh Assembly Government to commission a study on improving road access to the airport. The consultants have suggested three possible schemes:

1. Widening the A4232 to three lanes between M4 Junction 33 and Culverhouse. A bypass will be built connecting the A4232 directly to the A4050 to avoid the busy Culverhouse Cross roundabout.
2. Constructing a new bypass road to link the A4232 directly to the A48 (Tumble Hill) before Culverhouse Cross. Airport traffic would then travel to Sycamore Cross then join the A4226 to the Airport. Improvements will be made to allow speeds to increase.
3. Directing traffic from Junction 34 (Miskin) to Sycamore Cross then onto the A4226 to the airport. Improvements will be made to the route with new straighter sections added.

Airport management favour option 3, which would ease pressure from the A4232 and provide a more direct access route from areas north and west of Cardiff such as Bridgend, Swansea, Llantrisant and the surrounding valleys.[4] The National Assembly for Wales announced in June 2009 that the plans for a new access road would be dropped in favour of increased public transport frequency by bus and by rail instead.^[17]

[edit] Executive aviation

Signature Flight Support the Worlds largest FBO are present on the north side of the airfield serving executive aircraft that visit the airport.

Dragonfly Executive Air Charter operate three Beechcraft King Air 200 series aircraft. The company office is based on the south side of the airfield.

[edit] See also

• Transport in Wales
• Transport in Cardiff
• Aeronautical Information Publication United Kingdom

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cardiff Airport

• Cardiff Airport official website
• Cardiff Airport at the Open Directory Project
• European and Worldwide Destination Maps
• Single issue pressure group supporting Wales' air infrastructure - mainly involving Cardiff Airport

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