Bristol Airport legal teams demanding detail of Welsh Government’s multi-million-pound Cardiff Airport subsidy
Last week it was revealed that the cost to households in Wales for the state funding of Cardiff Airport since nationalisation is set to increase to £286 per household.
In a scathing letter to Welsh Government Minister Rebecca Evans MS, Bristol Airport highlighted how the proposed subsidy would exceed Cardiff Airport’s current annual turnover, in each year of the planned 10-year duration and comes on top of the nearly £200m of taxpayers’ money already provided to Cardiff Airport.
Bristol Airport said the funding over the 10-year period has potential to distort competition, and risks reducing air travel choice for customers, including those living in South Wales.
Dave Lees, Chief Executive Officer at Bristol Airport, raised concern over Welsh Government’s refusal to detail sufficient information on the public subsidy and how it will be spent – despite the Competition and Markets Authority highlighting considerable issues, including ‘unevidenced assumptions’.
The chief executive of Regional & City Airports, which is responsible for Bournemouth and Exeter, also criticised Welsh Government’s plans. Andrew Bell said it: “raises fundamental questions about fairness, transparency, and the strategic direction of regional aviation policy in the UK.”
Now lawyers are requesting detailed information about how Welsh Government has addressed the serious concerns raised by the Competition and Market Authority’s Subsidy Advice Unit in its report published last year. The legal team are also questioning why the Welsh Government does not consider Cardiff International Airport Limited to be an ailing or insolvent enterprise.
The Competition and Markets Authority highlighted considerable issues, including ‘unevidenced assumptions’, when Welsh Government first announced the subsidy in 2024.
Mr Lees said: “We have publicly called for details to be urgently made available on the proposed subsidy including the benefits it will deliver, what alternatives have been considered, how the impacts have been assessed, in the context of the significant additional cost burden to the taxpayer in Wales.
“There have been repeated attempts by Members of the Senedd and others to seek further detail on how Welsh Government intends to respond to the concerns raised in the CMA assessment has also been unsuccessful, resulting in a serious lack of transparency around this unprecedented subsidy in UK aviation, which is being funded at great expense by the taxpayer.
“It is therefore appropriate for our legal team to make a formal pre-application request to the Welsh Government for more detailed information on the proposed subsidy, as there has been insufficient detail published or shared to date to fully understand how the subsidy will be used.”
Bristol Airport said there was lack of transparency on the subsidy – with all major announcements being made just before the Welsh Assembly has gone into recess – and recently omitting in the last written statement the full subsidy amount. It emerged today that the Welsh Government has not discussed the subsidy with Ministers in the UK Government.
The April statement set out how the Welsh Government will proceed with a first investment of £20 million. Yet on the following day the UK Subsidy Transparency Database showed that Welsh Government in fact plans to spend an unprecedented £205.2 million of taxpayers’ money, which was omitted from the Written Statement.
Around one in five passengers at Bristol Airport travel to or from South Wales and benefit from the 115 destinations the airport provides. Bristol Airport says it supports the Welsh visitor economy as well as sports fixtures held in the region. It says it is currently investing £400m of private capital to improve the customer experience, at no cost to the taxpayer.
In a written statement in April while announcing the first £20m tranche of investment, Rebecca Evans MS, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning said: “We remain committed to the growth of this essential economic infrastructure, which currently generates over £200m in Gross Value Added (GVA) annually and supports thousands of jobs in the South Wales region.
“As outlined in the July 2024 written statement by the then Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Transport & North Wales, the investment is aimed at growing the local economy further by realising the full potential of Cardiff Airport’s presence in Wales.
“The funding will develop additional economic activity for the benefit of the South Wales region and beyond, as part of an outward-facing, vibrant and attractive national economy.
“Developments may include facilities for aircraft maintenance, cargo handling and general aviation. Some of the investment will go towards exploring new opportunities such as possible air routes.”
The Conservatives meanwhile say the Welsh Labour Government’s handling of Cardiff Airport continues to raise serious questions about transparency, fiscal responsibility, and fairness to taxpayers.
Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Transport & Infrastructure, Sam Rowlands MS, said: “Labour’s continued mismanagement of Cardiff Airport has seen them pour hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money into propping up the failing airport since its nationalisation.
“Despite repeated calls for transparency, Labour has failed to provide clear answers on how this money will be spent or why alternative solutions haven’t been considered – their refusal to engage in meaningful scrutiny is deeply concerning.
“The Welsh Conservatives firmly believe that Ministers in Cardiff Bay lack the essential expertise required to manage an airport effectively. An experienced private sector corporation, with a proven track record in the aviation industry, would be far better equipped to ensure that Cardiff Airport not only survives but thrives.”
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