Cardiff Airport has made up passenger numbers lost as a result of Wizz Air pulling its base after just one summer season, while saying it stands ready to go as soon as Qatar Airways gives the green light to recommence its scheduled route to Qatar.
Wizz Air, which initially said it intended to recommence its base at the Welsh Government-owned airport for the current summer season - having mothballed it during the winter after its inaugural summer season last year - pulled out in January.
However, with other airlines increasing their capacity, including KLM and Ryanair, the airport was able to backfill the 13% contribution that Wizz Air made to its 54,000 passenger number in April last year in April this year. For the rolling year from April 2022 to March 2023,the airport handled 910,000 passengers. This means it is currently at around 60% recovered on its pre-Covid annualised figure of 1.6 million. As part of a five year recovery plan it is targeting getting back to its pre-pandemic level in 2026.
