Cardiff Airport chief executive speaks about future on BBC

Mr Birns was being interviewed by the BBC on Monday, April 3, where he made the stark admission.

However the chief executive argued the airport is bouncing back after a torrid time due to Covid.

Mr Birns explained that routes were back from zero – during the pandemic – to 28 now, with a target of going back to pre-pandemic levels of offering more than 50 routes to customers.

Air France announcing routes to Paris helps reach this target, however Wizz Air, which Mr Birns revealed supplied 12 per cent of Cardiff’s business and eight per cent of its revenue, pulling out does not.

Mr Birns defenced the Welsh Government’s ownership of the airport despite its value falling to £15 million pounds - just less than a third of what the government bought it for in 2013.

Mr Birns reckoned the airport had recovered 60 per cent since the pandemic, with 900,000 passengers going through the doors of Cardiif Airport in the last 12 months.

However, he was eager to get it back to pre-pandemic levels, when the airport was contributing £240 million to the Welsh economy.

Speaking to presenter John-Paul Davies, Mr Birns said: “We are in a state of recovery. We have got through a period of survival (March 2020, February 2022). Being owned by Welsh Government meant we survived the pandemic.”

“(Since then) we have seen a buoyant pick up (and) a strong step up in demand for travel. We’re also doing work to enhance facilities.”

900,000 passengers going through the doors of Cardiif Airport in the last 12 months

Cardiff Airport built in the wrong place

Ten years after the Welsh Government bought Cardiff Airport, travel expert Simon Calder has said he believes it was built in the wrong place and that a new airport built “between Cardiff and Newport” would “transform” aviation in Wales.

“As a nation, Wales needs an international airport, and Cardiff is the obvious place to put it, but I’m very sorry that the current location is not suitable at all,” said Mr Calder.

A travel expert recently argued the airport is in the wrong place

Air France flights to Paris

From Friday, April 21, Air France will reinstate daily flights between Cardiff and Paris.

The move is said to deliver further growth at Cardiff Airport between key business destinations, and continue the airport’s revival in-line with its five-year recovery plan.

Marc Watkins, aviation development manager for Cardiff Airport, said this was great news.

“It’s fantastic to welcome back another flag carrier to Cardiff Airport post pandemic and offer people living in Wales another capital city connection which is not only an awe-inspiring destination in itself but also a gateway to onward connections,” said Mr Watkins.

Air France will start flying from Cardiff at the end of April

Cardiff Airport needs to thrive

In January, after Wizz Air announced they wre pulling out of Cardiff, Professor Stuart Cole, transport, policy and economy expert at South Wales University, said Cardiff needs to become viable.

“Cardiff Airport is not going to stop,” said Professor Cole.

“The Welsh Government will continue to put money into it because if you are a country attempting to attract inward investment and you do not have an airport then you have a problem in terms of perception.”

Transport, policy and economy expert at South Wales University Professor Stuart Cole said Cardiff has to survive

How do you get to Cardiff Airport?

Cardiff Airport is located roughly 11 miles away from the M4, meaning passengers travelling there by car will face journeys of nearly half an hour when they leave the motorway.

Buses travel to the airport, and the nearest railway station - Rhoose Cardiff International Airport - has minimal facilities, and can be found opposite a terrace of houses, two miles from the terminal.