Cardiff Airport
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Cardiff Airport () is an airport in Rhoose,
Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( ), locally referred to as ''The Vale'', is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf t ...
. It is the only airport offering commercial passenger services and cargo services in Wales. The airport is owned by the
Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...
, operating it at arm's length as a commercial business.


History

In the early 1940s, the
Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...
requisitioned land in the rural Vale of Glamorgan to set up a wartime satellite aerodrome and training base, named RAF Rhoose, for
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
(RAF)
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pilots. Construction started in 1941, and the airfield officially began life on 7 April 1942 when it was taken over by No 53 Operational Training Unit. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the airfield fell into disuse and was abandoned. In 1951, the Bridgend-born Minister of Civil Aviation, David Rees-Williams, called for a commercial airport to be built in South Wales. He told the House of Lords that "a decision had to be taken whether to do nothing at...or whether Pengam Moors, the existing airport for Cardiff, should be improved at a cost of some millions of pounds, involving the alteration of the course of the Rumney River or, thirdly, whether an entirely new airport should be constructed or acquired in the vicinity of the capital of Wales." Lord Ogmore thought diverting the river at Pengam would be a problem, and feared that the tall chimney stacks of the nearby East Moors Steelworks could pose a safety hazard to aircraft. The Welsh Civil Aviation Consultative Committee then proposed the abandoned RAF airfield at Rhoose as a possible alternative. On inspecting it, Ogmore found it "in a poor condition, with a large number of bombs stacked on the runways, and buildings in an extreme state of dilapidation". However, he considered Rhoose could be suitable for civil aviation "if the necessary money and time were spent upon it". The government accepted his proposal, and the Ministry of Aviation began to convert the abandoned airfield into a civilian airport. In October 1952, the new Rhoose Airport was opened by Rees-Williams's successor as Minister of Aviation Alan Lennox-Boyd.


First civil flights

In 1952,
Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish , meaning "air fleet") is an Irish airline company which is the flag carrier of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 201 ...
started a service to
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. Civilian flights from the old Cardiff Municipal Airport at Pengam Moors were transferred to Rhoose on 1 April 1954. A new terminal building followed, along with flights to France,
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
and Cork. An increase in holiday charter business resulted in passenger throughput exceeding 100,000 in 1962.> On 1 April 1965, the Ministry of Aviation handed over the airport to
Glamorgan County Council Glamorgan County Council was established in 1889 together with the administrative county of Glamorganshire under the Local Government Act 1888. The first elections to the council were held in January 1889. The council was abolished under the Loca ...
, and it was renamed Glamorgan (Rhoose) Airport. The council started a five-year plan to develop the airport, including a new control tower, terminal building and a runway extension. In the 1970s, the supersonic airliner
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made a few flights into the airport on special occasions. These were limited by the length of the runway, meaning it could only land lightly loaded, and only take off without passengers and with a minimal fuel load. In the 1980s, the airport's name was changed to ''Cardiff-Wales Airport''. 1986 saw a further extension of to the runway, costing in the region of £1 million, thus attracting new-generation jet aircraft to the airport. Transatlantic links were developed, with charter flights to
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, in addition to the previously-established links with Canada. The runway extension, enabling the airport to handle 747 jumbo jets, was instrumental in attracting the
British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...
maintenance facility to the airport. The maintenance hangar is one of the largest in the world at , providing heavy airframe and engineering maintenance for the British Airways fleet and third party carriers.


Privatisation

In April 1995, as a result of planned local government reorganisation in Wales, the airport company was privatised; the shares were sold to property and development firm
TBI plc TBI may refer to: Medicine * Total body irradiation, radiation therapy * Tracheobronchial injury (damage to the airways) * Traumatic brain injury * Triamcinolone benetonide, a glucocorticoid Other * Tony Blair Institute for Global Change * ...
. In December 1995, Heli-air Wales began training helicopter pilots from the airport. It moved operations to
Swansea Airport Swansea Airport () is located in the middle of Fairwood Common on the Gower Peninsula to the west of Swansea, Wales. Operations Swansea Airport has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P867) (currently suspended) that allows flights for the publ ...
in 1999. The airport is home to a purpose-built maintenance base for
British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...
, maintaining its wide-bodied, long-haul aircraft. It is also home to a variety of
aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...
-oriented firms and colleges, such as CAVC International Centre for Airline Training. The airport was the main base for four local airlines: Cambrian Airways from 1935 to 1976,
Airways International Cymru Airways International Cymru was an airline based in Cardiff, Wales formed by Red Dragon Travel, at the time a leading Welsh travel agency and tour operator. It commenced operations in early 1984, and ceased all operations in early 1988 after f ...
until the airline ceased operations in 1988, Inter European Airways until 1993 and Air Wales until the airline ceased scheduled operations in March 2006. In 1996, Cardiff was one of the first airports the Irish low-cost carrier
Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...
used for its "no frills" services using second-hand Boeing 737-200s on a short hop from Dublin.


21st century

By 2006, Ryanair had withdrawn from the airport, ending five years of daily service on the Cardiff to Dublin route. The withdrawal was due to a very public falling out with the airport over charges. On 15 May 2014, it was announced that Ryanair would return to the airport after an absence of eight years. Following a survey conducted by the airport operator in 2008 as part of a campaign to attract additional business routes, popular destinations such as
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,
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,
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, and Scandinavian cities were identified as lacking a current link. The airport planned to hold up to 25 meetings with airlines during May and June 2008 to support the case for more routes. The airport was used by 2.1 million passengers in 2008, but this had fallen to around 859,805 passengers by 2022, according to the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority, making it the 20th busiest airport in the UK in terms of passenger numbers. On 2 March 2009, the airport's management revealed a name change for the airport along with initial development plans to improve the image of the facility. Following a brand review involving consultation with a number of key stakeholders, the names ''Cardiff Airport'' and ''Maes Awyr Caerdydd'' replaced ''Cardiff International Airport''. Later, it emerged that the airport had applied for £5 million of payments from the
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to deal with unspecified development at the terminal. This attracted immediate public criticism and requests that the airport's owners, Abertis, match such an investment with a £6 million route development programme. It was announced on 13 April 2011 that Bmibaby were to close their base at the airport, along with their base at
Manchester Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2024, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passengers (the busiest outside of London) ...
, the following October in order to redeploy aircraft at their other bases, including the creation of a new operation at Belfast City Airport. The base closed on 30 October 2011, shortly before the airline soon ceased operations. It was announced on 28 October 2011 that Spanish low-cost carrier
Vueling Vueling S.A. (, ) is a List of airlines of Spain, Spanish low-cost airline based at Viladecans in Greater Barcelona with operating bases at Barcelona–El Prat Airport (main); Orly Airport, Paris-Orly Airport in Paris, France; Schiphol Airport, ...
were to open a new route to
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, commencing 27 March 2012 and operating the route thrice weekly. Just over a month later, it was announced that
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were to serve Orlando Sanford Airport,
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for the following summer, commencing the service on 28 May 2012. The airline operated the route on behalf of its own holiday wing, Monarch Holidays, and its partner company Cosmos. This was the first time in four years that there was a direct charter connection between Cardiff and the United States. On 16 May 2012, it was announced that airport's managing director, Patrick Duffy, had left his position amid mounting pressure from the Welsh Government on the airport's owners
Abertis Abertis Infraestructuras, S.A. () is a Spanish worldwide corporation engaged in toll road management. The company is headquartered in Madrid. The company runs over 8,600 kilometres of toll roads in the world. In October 2018, it was acquired by I ...
to improve the state of the airport and improve the services it offers or else sell the facility to an investor in a proposed public-private partnership. Why Duffy left his position after four years remains unclear. On 18 December 2012, it was announced that the Welsh Government was interested in buying the airport from its current owners. In 2012, the Airport faced sustained criticism from the First Minister of Wales,
Carwyn Jones Carwyn Howell Jones, Baron Jones of Penybont, (born 21 March 1967), is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2009 to 2018. He previously served as Counsel General for Wales from 2007 to 20 ...
. On 28 February 2012, Jones announced to the Welsh Assembly: "We would like to see many routes emerging from Cardiff Airport, but the Airport must get its act together... Last week, I went to the Airport and the main entrance was shut. People could not go in through the main entrance; they had to go through the side entrance. It is important that the Airport puts itself in a position where it is attractive to new airlines, and, unfortunately, that is not the case at present." His criticism led to accusations that he was "talking down" Cardiff Airport whilst aviation industry professionals commented that he was unqualified to make such comments. However, Jones returned to this theme on 7 March 2012 saying, "With the condition of the Airport at the moment I would not want to bring people in through Cardiff Airport because of the impression it would give of Wales...I have to say the time has come now for the owners of the Airport to decide to run the Airport properly or sell it." Byron Davies, Shadow Minister for Transport, said: "It is a bit rich for the First Minister to publicly attack and run down Cardiff Airport, when he has failed to seize opportunities, which would massively increase the range of routes available from Cardiff, introduce direct routes to North America, opening our economy to trade and business with one of the world's biggest economies". Liberal Democrats spokesperson, Eluned Parrott, said: "The First Minister needs to stop talking our capital city's Airport down and instead he should be doing all he can to encourage visitors to Cardiff Airport. His comments are hardly going to encourage tourism and business to Wales." The First Minister's criticism was roundly rejected by Alex Cruz, chief executive of
Vueling Vueling S.A. (, ) is a List of airlines of Spain, Spanish low-cost airline based at Viladecans in Greater Barcelona with operating bases at Barcelona–El Prat Airport (main); Orly Airport, Paris-Orly Airport in Paris, France; Schiphol Airport, ...
– a Spanish airline which operates regular flights from Cardiff. Cruz said "We are more than satisfied with Cardiff Airport. We would not fly into an Airport that we did not feel was suitable for our customers." However, on 20 March 2012 Jones again criticised Cardiff Airport saying "business people" had complained to him "week after week, for many months about the Airport." He asserted he had put their points to the owners of the Airport but "they have been met with a shrug of the shoulders. That is just not good enough. I know of situations, and have seen them myself, where people have been locked in the baggage hall and where the front door was not open and people had to go in through a side door—I had to do that the last time I used the Airport." On 29 May 2012, it was announced that Jones would personally chair a "Task Force" on Cardiff Airport with the aim of "maximising its economic impact, commercially and for Wales". On 27 June 2012, the Task Force, comprising tourist chiefs, local government spokesmen and trade unionists, met for the first time. No airlines were invited to attend. A bid to obtain the full minutes of the meeting under the Freedom of Information Act was refused by the Information Commissioner. Figures from the UK Civil Aviation Authority showed that the number of passengers passing through Cardiff Airport fell to 1 Million in 2012. However, passenger numbers are increasing steadily and, as of 2017, show a recovery to pre-2010 levels. In March 2013, the Welsh Government began the process of acquiring Cardiff Airport from TBI/Abertis, who were considering divesting all of their airport assets following international criticism of their management of these resources. The deal to purchase the airfield for £52 millionBBC News – Cardiff Airport is sold to the Welsh government for £52m
Bbc.co.uk (27 March 2013). Retrieved on 23 July 2013.
was officially announced on 27 March 2013. Cardiff Airport has had several problems with wild fly-grazing horses around the airfield and the Redwings Sanctuary in Norfolk were needed to assist in the rescue of 23 unclaimed horses that had been left on the site.


Recent developments

In June 2015, a major deal was signed with Flybe for the opening of a two-aircraft base for their Embraer 195 jet aircraft, which saw the addition of 16 direct routes across the UK and Europe to destinations including Faro, Jersey, Dublin, Glasgow, Berlin, Venice, Munich, Verona, Rome, Edinburgh and Paris CDG. This deal also saw the end of
Cityjet CityJet is an Irish regional airline with headquarters at Dublin Airport. It was founded in 1992 and has gone through a series of corporate structures. In 2023, it merged with Air Nostrum, forming Strategic Alliance of Regional Airlines (SAR ...
flights from the airport. The same year, Flybe announced that it would link Cardiff with
London City Airport London City Airport is an international airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks in the London Borough of Newham, Borough of Newham, about east of the City of London and east of Canary Wharf. These are the two centres ...
through a temporary route from 12 September 2016 until 21 October 2016 during the temporary closure of the Severn Tunnel. But due to the popularity of this service, Flybe decided that regular flights to London City Airport would continue. However, on 9 August 2017, Flybe announced that the service would be terminated, and the last flight was on 27 October 2017. In April 2017,
Qatar Airways Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. (, ''al-Qaṭariyya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the flag carrier of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke network, flying to over 170 internatio ...
announced plans to launch a new service from Cardiff Airport, linking
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and the West of England to
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. It announced Cardiff Airport as the only new planned UK route in its network for 2018, although the resumption of Qatar Airways flights from the Middle East to London-Gatwick was also later confirmed. In 2018 the airport unveiled new ePassport gates in the terminal building to reduce queueing in immigration. On 4 April 2019, Flybe confirmed it would no longer have a permanent operational base at the airport from the end of the summer 2019 season; however due to Flybe entering administration on 5 March it ceased operations. This was a huge blow for the airport as Flybe was Cardiffs largest airline providing 27% of its annual passenger numbers in 2018 and meant a loss of its routes to
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
,
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,
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,
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,
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, Cork,
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,
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,
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, Faro,
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,
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, seasonal winter services to
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and Chambery also
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and
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which were ceased in January. Most of these routes were only served by Flybe. On 3 December 2020, Wizz Air UK announced its fourth UK base at Cardiff, basing one
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aircraft and launching 9 routes (
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, Faro,
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,
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,
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, Palma,
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and
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), making Cardiff Airport the only Wizz Air and Wizz Air UK base without flights to Eastern Europe. The airline announced that it will shut down its base at Cardiff Airport on 29 January 2023.


Infrastructure

On 29 March 2006, a £100 million development strategy was announced to extend the terminal and upgrade the main body of the building. It was anticipated that the investment would attract up to five million passengers by 2015 – an increase of 150% – according to the airport's published response to a UK Government
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on the future of air transport throughout the United Kingdom. Costing around £3m, half funded by the Welsh Government, extensive refurbishment began with the redevelopment of the front of the Airport terminal and approach areas. The development works included an extension to the front of the terminal linking the arrivals and departures halls into one large common area, and providing new food and retail services. As part of the work, most of the first floor of the terminal became 'airside' as the security control point to access the departures lounge is relocated there, above the existing arrivals hall. The approach area in front of the terminal building was also redesigned and landscaped. In October 2017, works costing £4 million were announced to upgrade the terminal by expanding the departures area with increased seating and retail space and expand the executive lounge. Outside the terminal, a new meet and greet parking facility and car hire terminal would be built. Work started in October 2017. In 2019, Cardiff Airport received £21.2m loan from the Welsh Government. In March 2020, Cardiff Airport received a further loan of £6.8m. In March 2021 the airport received a support package totalling £85.2 million from the Welsh Government. Minister for the Economy Transport and North Wales, Ken Skates AM, undertook the package in the form of a £42.6 million grant and a £42.6 million debt write off in order to "ensure
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medium to long-term viability." The decision came at the same time the UK Government provided a £100 million facility for English airports and the Scottish Government provided a £17m fund for Scottish airports.


Operations

Cardiff Airport is the only airport in Wales that offers international scheduled flights and is also served by scheduled, low-fare, business and charter carriers. It also supports corporate and
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
. On 21 February 2007 the airport announced that it would host the first
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(PSO) service to be operated in Wales. This Welsh Government subsidised service was operated by Flybe using its franchise partner Eastern Airways with daily flights to the Isle of Anglesey. Most international destinations from Cardiff are to other countries in Europe, including the Netherlands, Greece, and Spain.
Qatar Airways Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. (, ''al-Qaṭariyya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the flag carrier of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke network, flying to over 170 internatio ...
announced in April 2017 that it would begin service to
Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...
in May 2018, using the Boeing 787 aircraft. It became the first long-haul service from Cardiff for many years following the demise of Zoom Airlines, though the service has been suspended since the
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as a result of the ongoing travel restrictions worldwide and has yet to have a confirmed return date.


Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled flights to and from Cardiff:


General aviation

The airport was home for many years to a number of flying clubs and small general aviation operators. These included the Cambrian and Pegasus Flying Clubs and later (from the mid-1980s) the Cardiff Wales Flying Club. In 2010, a new flying school was set up by the company Aeros. They (as of 2012) have a fleet including
Cessna 152 The Cessna 152 is an American two-seat, fixed- tricycle-gear, general aviation airplane, used primarily for flight training and personal use. It was based on the earlier Cessna 150 incorporating a number of minor design changes and a slightl ...
s and Piper Warriors; they are based in the White Building on the south side of the airfield. Dragonfly Executive Air Charter operate three Beechcraft King Air 200 series aircraft, based on the South side of the airfield. Global Trek Aviation, a full service FBO, expanded into Cardiff Airport during 2019. This introduced additional services at the airport for
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
, military and non-scheduled visitors.


Traffic and statistics


Passenger figures


Busiest routes


Ground transport


Rail

The nearest railway station is Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station on the Vale of Glamorgan Line. The station has an hourly
Transport for Wales Transport for Wales (TfW; ; ) is a not-for-profit company owned by the Welsh Government and managed at arms length by its appointed board. TfW oversees the Transport for Wales Group (TfW Group) consisting of itself and its subsidiaries: Trans ...
service to/from the east from Cardiff Central (originating from
Rhymney Rhymney (; ) is a town and a community (Wales), community in the county borough of Caerphilly (county borough), Caerphilly, South Wales. It is within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshir ...
) and to/from
Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...
in the west. The railway station is from the terminal building, and the transfer is served by Rail Linc buses which operate to and from the railway station to the terminal building.


Bus

TrawsCymru previously operated the Cardiff Airport Express () from the airport to Cardiff city centre, which ran every 20 minutes during the day and hourly during the night. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the T9 has ceased to operate. Route 905 runs from Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station to the airport and is operated by New Adventure Travel. There is also route 304 service to Cardiff via Barry, or Bridgend via Llantwit Major.This is operated by
First Cymru First Cymru is an operator of bus services in South West Wales. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. With its headquarters previously in Swansea, it is now part of the First Wales and West region which also covers Bristol, Bath, Somerset, Bath and ...
.


Road

The airport is situated from junction 33 of the M4 (Cardiff West). It is reached via the A4232, exiting at Culverhouse Cross and following the A4050 to Barry and then the A4226 towards Llantwit Major. From the West, leave at junction 37 Pyle, to join the
A48 A48 may refer to: * A48 motorway (France), a road connecting the A43 and Grenoble * A48 road (Great Britain), a road connecting Gloucester, England and Carmarthen, Wales * Autovía A-48, a motorway under construction connecting Cadiz and Algecira ...
past Cowbridge and South on the A4226. There is a direct unmarked route from M4 junction 34 (Miskin) following the lanes though Hensol and at Sycamore Cross (A48) continuing on the A4226 to the airport.


Proposed A48 and rail expansion

Road access to the airport by way of the A48 was the subject of a public inquiry in 2006 but this is now superseded by needs of the forthcoming Defence Training Academy at MoD St Athan, the bid for which included plans for a direct
St Athan St Athan () is a village and community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. The village and its parish church are dedicated to Saint Tathan. The church dates to the 13th–14th century, though an earlier church was dated t ...
and airport link to the M4. With the growth in usage of the airport, traffic along the current access roads has become more acute leading the
Welsh Assembly Government Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...
to commission a study on improving road access to the Airport. The consultants suggested three possible schemes: # Widening the A4232 to three lanes between M4 Junction 33 and Culverhouse. A bypass would have been built connecting the A4232 directly to the A4050 to avoid the busy Culverhouse Cross roundabout. # Constructing a new bypass road to link the A4232 directly to the A48 (Tumble Hill) before Culverhouse Cross. Airport traffic would then have travelled to Sycamore Cross then join the A4226 to the Airport. Improvements will be made to allow speeds to increase. # Directing traffic from Junction 34 (Miskin) to Sycamore Cross then onto the A4226 to the airport. Improvements would have been made to the route with new straighter sections added. Airport management favoured the third option, claiming that it would have eased pressure on the A4232 and provide better access from South West Wales, the South Wales Valleys and
Mid Wales Mid Wales ( or simply ''Y Canolbarth'', meaning "the midlands"), or Central Wales, is a region of Wales, encompassing its midlands, in-between North Wales and South Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the Senedd covered the unitary autho ...
, but in June 2009, the National Assembly announced that the plans for any new road would be dropped in favour of increased public transport frequency by rail and bus. The
Institute of Welsh Affairs The Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA) () is an independent charity and membership-based think-tank based Cardiff, Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Ir ...
debated the future of the project in their 2017 article "A road to Cardiff Airport... or regeneration in Pontypridd?" In 2019 it was announced that the A48 link road was to go ahead, with the route announced to run from J34 of the M4 to the A48 south of Sycamore Cross through the west of Pendoylan. The proposal is also likely to include a new railway station and
park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...
near Junction 34 on the
South Wales Main Line The South Wales Main Line (), originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. It diverges from the co ...
near Hensol Castle. The plans will include an integrated bus service between the railway station, strategic employment sites, and Cardiff Airport.


See also

* Transport in Wales * Transport in Cardiff


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control Airports in Wales Government-owned companies of Wales Transport in Cardiff Transport in the Vale of Glamorgan Rhoose Civilian airports with RAF origins