Cardiff to Manchester flights now a step closer
ANEW daily route between Cardiff and Manchester airports has moved a step closer. The Welsh Government has submitted a formal request to the UK Government for a route between south Wales and Manchester being assigned so-called Public Service Obligation (PSO) status.
PSOs are given to new air routes deemed as economically important to the regions they serve. The UK Government will now need to make the case for the route with the European Commission.
To help make them sustainable, PSO routes are exempted from Air Passenger Duty, which on UK domestic flights, each way, is £13 and £26 for business and first class.
There are a number of compelling reasons to back the route.
Firstly, it wouldn’t impact on Cardiff Airport’s nearest rival in Bristol Airport, which doesn’t have a route to Manchester, while it would also offer the public a far quicker journey time than currently offered by rail.
Train services between Cardiff and Manchester Piccadilly take more than three hours, with some requiring changes. A flight would take around an hour.
And it could stimulate increased business and investment ties between south Wales and the northwest of England.
If the route was given PSO status, an obvious operator of the service would be airline Flybe, which already has a base in Cardiff.
The Welsh Government has set out a wish-list of routes it would like to see designated as PSOs to the UK Government, but Manchester is understood to be its number-one target.
It is also a key new target of Cardiff Airport, which is wholly-owned by the Welsh Government but is operated at arm’s length from it by a commercial company.
However, a number of issues still need to addressed between the two governments over the proposed route before the UK Government is in a position to make any formal submission to the EU.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We have submitted applications for a range of Public Service Obligation routes to the Department for Transport in the UK Government, of which the Cardiff to Manchester route is one.
“As the member state, the UK Government is responsible for sending the proposals to European Commission for consideration.
“We have received the response from the UK Government setting out a number of challenges to our proposals. We want to work with the UK Government to allow us to be able to provide this connectivity across the UK, which will be especially important post-Brexit and to help rebalance the UK economy.”
The Welsh Government wouldn’t comment on the nature of the “challenges” set out by the UK Government.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “We are working closely with the Welsh Government on the proposals they have put forward.
“Our aviation strategy will consider wider use of PSOs and we will use our upcoming Green Paper and consultation as an opportunity to fully work up the policy options, ensuring it is fit for the whole of the UK.”
The Welsh Government wants a Cardiff to Manchester route to be
operational from next spring.
It is also seeking PSO status for the following routes:
■ Cardiff to Leeds Bradford.
■ Cardiff to Humberside
■ Cardiff to Glasgow
■ Cardiff to Aberdeen
■ Cardiff to London (no airport specified)
■ Cardiff to Newquay
■ Cardiff to Inverness
■ Cardiff to Norwich
It comes as former leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies, has called for Air Passenger Duty to be devolved to Wales, as is the case in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Welsh Government said if APD were devolved it would abolish it on long-haul flights as a way of attracting more scheduled routes out of Cardiff, following the launch of Qatar Airways’ Cardiff to Doha service in May.
However, to date the UK Government has opposed devolution of the aviation tax, claiming it could have a negative impact on Cardiff’s nearest rival, Bristol.
However, recent commissioned research from the Welsh Government, carried out by aviation consultancy Northpoint, highlights that concerns over the impact on Bristol Airport and the economy of the south-west of England from a devolution of APD to Wales have been overstated.
Mr Davies, the south Wales Central AM, said: “Lowering APD is a game-changer and would make the airport more competitive – attracting more passengers and route options – while delivering a shot in the arm to the Welsh economy.
“The Scottish Government already enjoys the power, and Northern Ireland has the ability to flex its muscles when it comes to determining longhaul APD, with the likelihood of short-haul making its way across the Irish Sea in the not-too-distantfuture. “It has been the long-standing position of the Welsh Conservatives in the National Assembly that this power should be transferred to Wales and it also featured as a prominent recommendation of the Silk Commission.
“So what’s stopping it? Many cite the intransigence of the UK Government, which some speculate is down to a strong south-west political lobby citing the negative impacts such a decision might have on Bristol Airport.
“Whilst I recognise some of these concerns, I do not believe they are insurmountable. One report found that many of these concerns were unjustified and focused simply on the worst-case scenario.
“And not one study or report has found a detrimental impact to UK Plc as a whole. In fact, quite the opposite, with a slight rebalancing between markets and passenger traffic. As the party of the Union, what’s not to like?”