Environmental campaigners Friends of the Earth (FoE) have slammed the Welsh Assembly Government after it emerged that taxpayers have paid more than £80 in subsidy for every passenger who used the new air link between Anglesey and Cardiff Airport in its first year. The subsidy is double the average fare on the popular service.
The two return flights each weekday service between RAF Valley and Cardiff Airport was launched on May 8 last year. By the end of April, 14,133 passenger journeys had been made, with an average of 1 in 5 seats unoccupied or an 80% load factor - which is very good for a new service.
Flight operator Highland Airways receives £800,000 a year from the Welsh Assembly Government, which also gives Anglesey Council £400,000 for the cost of running Maes Awyr Môn, the civilian terminal at RAF Valley. The subsidy works out at around £84 for each passenger, whilst fares range from £20 to £50 one way, and the average paid in the first year was £42.
Gordon James, of Friends of the Earth, said: ‘The subsidy per passenger is excessive. It’s sending out the wrong message. It’s often the better-off who will fly, and they are getting a high subsidy from the taxpayer.’
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