£85m cash package to save airport
CARDIFF Airport is being given another £42m of taxpayers’ cash – and £42m it owes to the Welsh Government is being written off.
Minister for the Economy and Transport Ken Skates said any delay “would mean the loss of the airport”.
The airport will receive a grant of up to £42.6m and separately £42.6m of the airport’s debt will be written off.
It comes as passenger numbers at the Rhoose site have dropped massively amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Announcing the plans, Mr Skates said: “As the shareholder, and recognising the importance of this key infrastructure, we have decided to take decisive action now – to delay would mean the loss of the airport and our entire investment.”
The Welsh Government purchased the airport in 2013 for £52m and it has since been operated at arm’s length on a commercial basis.
The value of the airport has also been massively written down by £46m, according to Mr Skates’ statement.
Mr Skates said: “The Welsh Government have agreed a financial package to provide support to Cardiff International Airport Limited (CIAL) in the medium term against a five-year plan for the rescue and restructure of the airport.
“This Government business support package satisfies the terms of the UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement, in particular the provisions around subsidies for the purposes of rescue and restructure.
“We have agreed investment by way of a grant of up to £42.6m which will be given to enable Cardiff Airport to restructure its operations, and secure its longterm viability.
“Separately, as sole shareholders of
Cardiff Airport, we have made the decision on a purely commercial basis to write off £42.6m of the airport’s debt. This decision maximises the likelihood of recovery of Welsh Government loan investment and delivers the lowest lifetime cost option. It provides the best way forward for the Welsh Ministers as sole shareholders of the airport from a commercial perspective.
“We are also impairing the equity at this time as a prudent step to reflect the loss of value as a result of Covid which amounts to £46.3m. By taking this action we are confident that this will best protect the value of the public investment in the airport and ensure that it is sustainable into the future.”
The coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on the aviation industry, with passenger numbers plummeting.
Last year global air traffic fell to its lowest level for 17 years, while passenger numbers dropped from 4.5bn in 2019 to 1.8bn in 2020.
Cardiff Airport has remained open during the period with deliveries of PPE flown into the site.
It comes as Cardiff Airport’s newest budget airline, Wizz Air, recently postponed its launch due to ongoing coronavirus restrictions.
The first flights with the airline were due to depart this month but owners have now postponed the launch to midMay.
Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies, questioned the support from the Welsh Government.
In a tweet he said: “Labour ministers have just announced another £42.6m grant for its government-owned airport, and written off £42m plus of its debt.
“At a time when they’re refusing to support small Welsh firms I find this astonishing. Labour’s priorities are all wrong.”
A DECISION has been delayed on whether 240 homes in the countryside near Llantwit Major should be given approval.
The Welsh Government is applying for planning permission to build the 240 homes on two sites of farmland to the east of the town, just south of the newly built Northern Access Road.
The Vale of Glamorgan council’s planning committee was due to vote last week on whether to approve planning permission.
But a last-minute delay means the decision has been deferred, for at least another month.
The delay was due to new national planning rules published on the same day by the Welsh Government.
Future Wales: The National Plan 2040 sets out how development should take place across Wales, and will impact how local planning committees decide which developments to approve and which to refuse.
The plans have drawn criticism from locals including Llantwit Major town council and Llanmaes community council, due to the loss of open countryside and the increasing burden on local infrastructure.
It is anticipated that the plans will be voted on at the next planning committee meeting, on March 24.
The homes would be built on land off the newly built Northern Access Road, which is also known as Fford Bro Tathan.