Bristol Airport 'scathing' over Welsh Government's £205m subsidy for Cardiff Airport

Lawyers working on behalf of Bristol Airport have written a scathing letter to the Welsh Government demanding they provide more details on how they will subsidise Cardiff Airport with hundreds of millions of pounds.

Over the next ten years, Cardiff Airport is set to receive a £205 million subsidy from the Welsh Government. Lawyers for Bristol Airport say that since Cardiff's nationalisation, the airport has cost each household in Wales £286.

Writing to Welsh Government Minister Rebecca Evans MS, Bristol Airport said the proposed subsidy would exceed Cardiff Airport's current annual turnover, in each year of the planned 10-year duration and comes on top of the nearly £200m of taxpayers’ money already provided to Cardiff Airport.

Bristol Airport claim the funding has potential to "distort competition, and risks reducing air travel choice for customers, including those living in South Wales".

Dave Lees, Chief Executive Officer at Bristol Airport, raised concern over the amount of detail the Welsh Government has shared on the public subsidy and how it will be spent – despite the Competition and Markets Authority highlighting considerable issues, including "unevidenced assumptions".

The Chief Executive of Regional & City Airports, which is responsible for Bournemouth and Exeter, also criticised the Welsh Government’s plans.

Andrew Bell said it “raises fundamental questions about fairness, transparency, and the strategic direction of regional aviation policy in the UK".

Now lawyers are requesting detailed information about how the Welsh Government has addressed the concerns raised by the Competition and Market Authority’s Subsidy Advice Unit in its report published last year.

The legal team are also questioning why the Welsh Government does not consider Cardiff International Airport Limited to be an "ailing or insolvent enterprise".

The Competition and Markets Authority highlighted issues, including "unevidenced assumptions", when Welsh Government first announced the subsidy in 2024.

Mr Lees said: “We have publicly called for details to be urgently made available on the proposed subsidy including the benefits it will deliver, what alternatives have been considered, how the impacts have been assessed, in the context of the significant additional cost burden to the taxpayer in Wales.

“There have been repeated attempts by Members of the Senedd and others to seek further detail on how Welsh Government intends to respond to the concerns raised in the CMA assessment has also been unsuccessful, resulting in a serious lack of transparency around this unprecedented subsidy in UK aviation, which is being funded at great expense by the taxpayer.

“It is therefore appropriate for our legal team to make a formal pre-application request to the Welsh Government for more detailed information on the proposed subsidy, as there has been insufficient detail published or shared to date to fully understand how the subsidy will be used.”

Around one in five passengers at Bristol Airport travel to or from South Wales

In response, the Welsh Government has said, “We recognise the importance of Cardiff Airport to the Welsh economy and believe very strongly that, with the right investment, the Airport has the potential to make an even greater contribution, creating hundreds of additional jobs and boosting regional GVA.

“Welsh Government investment will allow Welsh Ministers to focus the strategic direction of the Airport on the delivery of long-term economic growth with a view to realising these benefits.

“We acknowledge the correspondence received from Bristol Airport regarding the subsidy and will be responding as we consider appropriate in due course.”

Commenting on the matter, the Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Transport & Infrastructure, Sam Rowlands MS, said:

“Labour’s continued mismanagement of Cardiff Airport has seen them pour hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money into propping up the failing airport since its nationalisation.

“Despite repeated calls for transparency, Labour has failed to provide clear answers on how this money will be spent or why alternative solutions haven’t been considered - their refusal to engage in meaningful scrutiny is deeply concerning.

“The Welsh Conservatives firmly believe that Ministers in Cardiff Bay lack the essential expertise required to manage an airport effectively. An experienced private sector corporation, with a proven track record in the aviation industry, would be far better equipped to ensure that Cardiff Airport not only survives but thrives.”

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