Cardiff Airport 'needs new vision'
24.04.11
A Welsh business expert has warned that a ‘clear and coherent vision’ is needed for Cardiff Airport to help revitalise the economy of South Wales, the Western Mail reports. Following the announcement that bmibaby is to pull out from the airport, Professor Dylan Jones- Evans warned that it has slipped far behind Bristol Airport, and risks holding back the recovery in Wales.
He said: ‘From a peak of just over 2 million passengers in 2006, the number flying from the airport had fallen to less than 1.5 million in 2010, a decrease of over 20%. In contrast, over 5.3 million people now fly from Bristol Airport, Cardiff’s nearest competitor geographically.'
'According to the CAA, Cardiff is now the bottom of the league table of ‘second tier’ regional airports in the UK. The question is whether anyone is interested in doing anything about this.’ Professor Jones-Evans said that the airport’s master plan put forward in 2006 appears to have been largely abandoned. That plan forecast that there would be 3.25 million passengers in 2010.
He said: ‘Given the importance of an international airport to the attraction and retention of foreign direct investors as well as the development of tourism, the time has come for Cardiff Airport, along with the Welsh Assembly Government, Vale of Glamorgan Council, organisations such as Cardiff & Co and major employers in South Wales, to come together to solve this problem. We need a clear and coherent vision for Cardiff Airport and its critical potential role in developing the South Wales economy.’
Add to: del.icio.us | Digg it | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
To book cardiff airport hotel or cardiff airport car park at the lowest price, click on these links to two great cardiff airport car parking and cardiff airport hotel price comparison pages.
