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Cardiff Airport

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Cardiff International Airport

Maes Awyr Rhyngwladol Caerdydd

File:Cardiff Airport.gif
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerTBI plc
OperatorCardiff International Airport Ltd.
ServesCardiff
LocationRhoose
Elevation AMSL220 ft / 67 m
Coordinates51°23′48″N 03°20′36″W / 51.39667°N 3.34333°W / 51.39667; -3.34333
Websitewww.cwlfly.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
12/30 2,392 7,848 Asphalt
Source: UK AIP at NATS

Cardiff International Airport (Welsh: Maes Awyr Rhyngwladol Caerdydd) (IATA: CWL, ICAO: EGFF) is a major British airport located in the town of Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan, approximately 12 miles (19 km) south-west of the Welsh capital, Cardiff, serving all of South and Mid Wales.

As the only airport in Wales offering international scheduled flights (the other offering scheduled flights being Anglesey Airport), Cardiff Airport is served by scheduled, low-fare, business and charter carriers, and also supports corporate and general aviation. The airport is also know as Cardiff-Wales or Rhoose Airport, after the village nearest to the airport

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 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.

The airport entrance

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 status was further upgraded 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 Cardiff 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 therefore a major contributor to the economic development of the region.

Cardiff Airport was used by two million passengers in 2006, according to the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority.

2007 onwards

On 21 February 2007, the airport announced that the airport would see the first Public Service Obligation (PSO) service to be operated in Wales.[1] 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.[2]

On 12 March 2007, it was revealed that British Mediterranean Airways (BMED) was flying a "ghost flight" between London Heathrow and Cardiff International 6 times a week. No seats were sold for the flight and it was announced neither on arrivals, departures nor on airport information screens. The flight was made in order for BMED to retain a valuable take-off slot at London Heathrow, unused since it scrapped flights to Uzbekistan. Airlines with landing rights at London Heathrow are liable to lose them if they do not make at least 80% use of their allocation over a six-month session. [3]

On 15 March 2007, it was announced that Route Development Fund (RDF), which was set up to promote and support growth of commercial aviation in Wales, would be scrapped from May. This was due to new EU regulations that state aid must not exceed 30% of total costs; the RDF provided assistance of 50%. Similar schemes in Scotland and Northern Ireland ended on the same day.

In March 2007, formal CAA figures showed Cardiff International had passed the two million annual passengers mark; with an annual growth rate of 14% and that it was the UK's fastest growing regional airport. A new airline was announced to be launching flights from Cardiff Airport. Flyforbeans would launch routes to France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Eastern Europe. The airline, which is expected to begin operation in early 2008, will operate Boeing 737 aircraft serving up to twelve destinations.[4] The airline is said to be a 'true low cost' airline.[5]

In April 2007, First Choice Airways and Air Southwest announced that they would be leaving the airport. First Choice Airways are shutting bases both at Cardiff and London Luton in November due to the airline's expansion at Exeter Airport. It was afterwards learnt that, with the announcement, ThomsonFly would take over all routes left by First Choice Airways at Cardiff. Air Southwest is leaving Cardiff Airport due to low passenger numbers on services to Manchester and Newquay.

In June 2007, media reports suggested Zoom Airlines would launch a route from the airport to New York JFK.[6][7].

On 1 August 2007, an Airbus A380 made a fly-past over the airport. It started at Bristol Filton Airport near Bristol and then flew over Cardiff International Airport after circling RAF St. Athan.

On 26 September 2007, the managing director of Cardiff Airport, Jon Horne, decided to resign from his position on 31 October, exactly six years from the day he began working in Cardiff Airport. Bob Bullock, Group Business Development Director of TBI-Abertis Airports, will temporarily take over his position until a successor can be found.MD to change

Airlines and destinations

Scheduled services

  • Aer Arann (Cork, Dublin, Galway, Nantes)
  • bmibaby (Alicante, Amsterdam, Belfast-International, Edinburgh, Faro, Gdańsk [begins 9 February], Geneva [begins 15 December], Glasgow, Ibiza, Jersey, Malaga, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, Warsaw [begins 10 February])
  • Eastern Airways (Newcastle)
  • Flybe (Belfast-City, Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
  • Highland Airways (Anglesey)
  • KLM Cityhopper (Amsterdam)
  • Thomsonfly.com (Alicante, Barcelona, Faro, Ibiza, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca)
  • Zoom Airlines (Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver [seasonal])

Charter services

  • Air Europa (Palma de Mallorca)
  • Air Malta (Malta, Corfu)
  • BH Air (Bourgas, Plovdiv, Varna)
  • BritishJet (Malta)
  • Eurocypria (Heraklion)
  • First Choice Airways (Tenerife, Paphos)
  • Futura (Arrecife, Fuerteventura)
  • Iberworld (Ibiza)
  • Karthago Airlines (Monastir)
  • MyTravel Airways (Alicante, Arrecife, Dalaman, Faro, Fuerteventura, Gerona, Gran Canaria, Heraklion, Ibiza, Kefalonia, Larnaca, Malaga, Malta, Mahon, Monastir, Orlando-Sanford, Palma de Mallorca, Reus, Rhodes, Sharm el Sheikh, Tenerife, Zakynthos)
  • Onur Air (Antalya, Bodrum, Dalaman)
  • Thomsonfly.com (Alicante, Arrecife, Barcelona, Bodrum, Bourgas, Corfu, Dalaman, Faro, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gerona, Gran Canaria, Heraklion, Ibiza, Kefalonia [begins May], Kos [begins May], Larnaca [begins May], Malaga, Mahon, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Rhodes, Reus, Sharm el Sheikh, Tenerife, Verona, Zakynthos)
  • Thomas Cook Airlines (Alicante, Arrecife, Bourgas, Corfu, Dalaman, Faro, Fuerteventura, Gerona, Gran Canaria, Heraklion, Ibiza, Kefalonia, Larnaca, Malta, Menorca, Monastir, Orlando-Sanford, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Reus, Rhodes, Tenerife, Zakynthos)
  • Travel City Direct (Orlando-Sanford)

Future airlines/routes

  • BMIbaby (Gdansk [9 febuary], Geneva [15 december], Warsaw [10 febuary])
  • Flyforbeans France, Germany, Spain and Eastern Europe. Actual aiports still unannounced.

Cargo services

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

Cardiff Bus serves the airport by providing a regular shuttle bus to Cardiff central bus station via the Cardiff city centre taking around 30 minutes, with an Adult Single costing £3.40.

By road, the airport is signposted along the M4 motorway in South Wales. 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. The airport is 10 miles (16 km) from the M4 and is well signposted.

Hotels

Express by Holiday Inn is recognised as the main airport hotel, situated adjacent to the Arrivals Terminal. However there is a Days Inn on the airport access road and an Innkeeper's Lodge on the A4226 towards Barry. Also, the 4-star Copthorne Hotel in Culverhouse Cross, Cardiff is often used by cabin crew and passengers.

Future plans

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.[8]

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

Executive aviation

Dragonfly Executive Air charter operate two Beechcraft King Air 200 series aircraft. The company office is based on the south side of the airfield, sharing a building with the Cardiff Academy Of Aviation flying school. The flying school operates a fleet of Robin, Cessna and Piper aircraft.

See also

References

  1. ^ "North-south airline is revealed". BBC News. 21 February 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Big demand powers North-South air route". Cardiff International Airport. 08 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Green anger at 'ghost flights'". BBC News. 12 March 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Flyforbeans has 12 destinations on its radar". icWales - Western Mail. 11 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Flyforbeans homepage". Flyforbeans. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
  6. ^ "Zoom in talks with Cardiff Airport about New York flights". UK Airport News. 23 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Cardiff to New York for £129?". icWales - South Wales Echo. 22 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "The Future of Air Transport - White Paper and the Civil Aviation Bill, Chapter 6, Wales". UK Department for Transport. 10 December 2004. Retrieved 2007-07-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)


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