Cardiff Airport says it is performing better than expected despite the blow of low-cost airline Wizz Airport pulling its base for the winter season. It says it is on track to hit its target of passenger numbers recovering to around 50% of pre-pandemic levels for its current financial year.
The Rhoose-based airport, which is owned by the Welsh Government but operated by an at arm’s length commercial company, carried just over 122,000 passengers in July this year. That was 55% of the 208,000 passengers who passed through the airport in July 2019 before the pandemic. In comparison, the UK's three biggest airports Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester all carried around 81 or 82% of the passenger numbers they saw in 2019.
Cardiff airport said it was experiencing a better than expected May through to August which will continue until the middle of September, when Hungarian-owned airline Wizz Air ceases its base from the airport and the cancelling of what was planned as its first winter season following its inaugural summer one. Wizz will though operate two winter routes, using other aircraft, from Cardiff to Milan (Malpensa) and Bucharest.
