cardiff airport passenger numbers down 19% in first quarter 2005
22.04.05
Passenger numbers at Cardiff Airport slumped by 19% during the first 3 months of 2005 (compared to 2004). Its owners, TBI, said a shortage of aircraft for no-frills airline bmibaby was one reason for the drop, but experts have suggested that competition from Bristol Airport is the real cause.
Cardiff International had been fastest-growing airport in the UK as recently as 2003, when one million passengers passed through the airport. But figures for the first 3 months of 2005 show passengers on charter flights falling by 39.4% to 79,300 and low-cost passengers fell 9.9% to 162,000, with an overall drop of 19%.
Cardiff airport's management has blamed the slump on a shortage of aircraft at no-frills carrier bmibaby. However, Martin Evans, a transport expert at the University of Glamorgan, said competition with fast growing Bristol airport and problems attracting passengers had also played a part.
'The difficulty in Cardiff is we aren't attracting the new inbound passengers that we should. All the expansion is depending on us taking more flights to go and visit Europe more often. What we need to do is encourage those inbound passengers as well. We want to encourage those visitors that will bring spending into Wales,' he said.
Bristol Airport almost tripled the number of scheduled routes to 45 over the last 3 years and estimates 5 million passengers will fly from the airport in 2005. This competition is clearly hurting Cardiff airport.
Figures for Belfast and Luton airports - also owned by TBI - show total passenger increases of 18.6% and 24.8% respectively.
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