Passenger numbers at UK airports last year were 78% below pre-pandemic levels, and numbers at Cardiff Airport fell by 93%, new figures have shown. Wales' biggest airport was just the 25th largest in the UK, according to Civil Aviation Agency data for 2021.
In total, Cardiff served just 123,000 passengers last year. That compares to 2.08m for Bristol, 6.2m for Gatwick and 19.3m for Heathrow. The Welsh-Government-owned airport was also smaller than Exeter, Norwich and Bournemouth - and was less than half the size of Southampton. Cardiff served just 0.2% of UK air travellers.
The airport has fallen back since it was bought by the Welsh Government in 2013 for £52m. In 2010, Cardiff was the 20th biggest airport in the UK by passenger volume. Ministers bailed it out with £85m in a grant and debt write off during the pandemic in March 2021.
