The Welsh Government could have considered selling struggling Cardiff airport had the coronavirus pandemic not happened, Wales former economy minister has claimed. The government bought the airport in 2013 for £52m, but a decade on and it is struggling with falling passenger numbers and unable to retain airlines.
Last year the airport was valued at just £15m, less than a third of what the Welsh Government paid for it. Ministers have also written off £42.6m of debt and pumped an additional £158m into the airport. Despite this, figures show its recovery still lags behind other major UK airports as they recover from Coronavirus.
So much so that earlier this year it's own CEO admitted it was a "long way" from being profitable. Despite the influx of people looking to travel abroad last year after the easing of covid restrictions, the airport carried just over 122,000 passengers in July.
