How Cardiff Airport has Developed

Cardiff Airport Landing in a Robin Light Aircraft

Today, Cardiff airport handles around 1.9 million passengers who are able to travel from Cardiff to over 60 destinations. The airport provides everything one might expect from a popular international travel hub.

The history of Cardiff International airport extends back over 6 years. From 1931 to 1954 the original Cardiff airport operated at Pengam Moors in Cardiff bay but, in 1941, the wartime Air Ministry requisitioned land in the rural Vale of Glamorgan and work began to establish a fully operational wartime airfield and important training base for RAF Spitfire pilots.

It wasn't until the war was over that, like many other wartime airfields, the commercial potential of Cardiff was recognised. Aer lingus started a service flying to and from Dublin in 1952 and this was followed by further airport development in the form of a new airport building. As the holiday charter market expanded in the early 1960s additional destinations were added including France, Belfast and Cork and so the passenger figures increased.

The Ministry of Defence retained control of the airport right up until the mid-1960s. It wasn't until 1965 that control was transferred to Glamorgan County Council. Local government reorganisation during the 1970s resulted in transfer of airport ownership to the three local county councils of South, Mid and West Glamorgan. In 1995, local government reorganisation led to the privatisation of the Cardiff Airport Company with shares sold to TBI Plc., a Welsh property and development firm.

1971 Saw the first transatlantic flight from Cardiff and this was followed by further development including the current airport terminal building and control tower. The single airport runway was extended to 7,000 feet to accommodate larger bodied aircraft. New routes were being established all the time including regular transatlantic flights between Cardiff to Canada. These transatlantic links were further developed during the 1980s with charter flights to Florida as well as Canada.

Another runway extension of 750 feet, carried out in the 1980s, enabled the airport to handle 747 jumbo jets. This attracted the British Airways maintenance facility to be located at Cardiff International Airport. Their hangar is one of the largest of its kind in the world supporting aircraft engineering maintenance for British Airways and other airlines.

Passenger figures at Cardiff International Airport have continued to increase and a number of further development projects, designed to increase capacity and efficiency at the airport terminal, have been completed. In 2007 figures showed that Cardiff airport had exceeded 2 million annual passengers. The annual growth rate of 14% makes Cardiff the UKs fastest growing regional airport.

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