Written question WQ87078

The Welsh Government has not provided any financial support or incentive to Wizz Air since it began operations at Cardiff Airport.

Cardiff Airport is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Welsh Government, operated at an arms-length as a private limited company. It operates in an independent and commercial manner and is liable for its own actions and any issues arising from the running of its business.

We are happy with the effective leadership that the airport board has demonstrated and continues to demonstrate. The progress on recovery of passenger numbers over the last year is testament to their ability to manage an airport in turbulent times. We are confident that the board will guide the airport through to recovery from the impact of pandemic and these challenging times.

The airport continues to work on finding new airlines to operate from the airport. The executive team at the airport are working on recovering the 52 non-stop routes that were regularly serviced prior to the onset of Covid in 2019. They have achieved a positive recovery of the lost routes as a result of Flybe’s collapse in early 2020.

The airport is seeing an increase in flights from companies such as KLM and RyanAir which have recently announced extra flights to Dublin, Malaga and Faro for summer 2023, and a new year-round route to Belfast.

The airport is still on a pathway towards profitability. This will be a longer pathway because Wizz Air was a significant customer for the airport.

The £42.6m rescue and recovery plan which was put in place during the pandemic remains in place and is designed to help Cardiff Airport to become self-sustainable and profitable in the future. We are now working with the airport to understand the impact of the withdrawal of Wizz Air on the progress of that pathway.

The wider sector faces challenges because of rising energy costs, inflation, and the recession. The margins many of operators operate within are very small. Much of the market is taken up by package holidays, which are becoming more and more competitive, meaning profitability is lower.

The next valuation of Cardiff Airport will take place as part of the preparation of accounts for both WGC Holdco and Welsh Government. The next accounts made up to 31 March 2022 are due by 31 March 2023. The valuation is reviewed annually and included in the published accounts.