The Welsh Government has come under fire for failing to back Cardiff Airport, after it emerged that Labour Ministers used FlyBe’s Cardiff to London route just once before it was scrapped.
An FOI by the Welsh Conservatives uncovered the figure, which confirmed that Welsh Government Ministers took a grand total of 1 flight in over 1,200 that flew between London City and Cardiff between September 2016 and October 2017. Labour Ministers based in Cardiff Bay, just 14 miles away from the Airport in Rhoose, purchased the airport for £52 million in 2013.
Shadow Economy Secretary – Russell George – said:
“Labour ministers spent more than £50 million on Cardiff airport and you’d hope they would have offered more support for new routes, instead of wasting cash on expensive motorcades.
“It’s deeply worrying when you consider that daily flights to Qatar arrive in a matter of weeks.
“Airport staff are working hard to attract new airlines, with the support of UK Government embassies around the world, and they must be disappointed at the lack of support from Welsh Government ministers.
“Talk is cheap, and the best way for Carwyn Jones to back the airport he runs is to set an example by using it!
“If the First Minister – with a constituency twenty minutes away from the airport – won’t use it, and can’t persuade his colleagues to, what message does that send to passengers across Wales?”
