<H1>14 January 2008
Travel trend sets new record for Cardiff International
Passenger traffic at Cardiff International Airport (CWL), which directly supports over 1,000 jobs in South Wales, grew by five per cent to a record 2.1 million in 2007.
The figures show a continuing trend for travellers to switch to UK regional airports from the main South East hubs. BAA's London airports grew by 1.3 per cent over the same year while, in comparison, both Scotland's and Wales' capitals recorded identical five per cent rises.
Domestic traffic from Cardiff soared by 17 per cent while international passenger numbers went up two per cent. Scheduled passenger traffic grew by six per cent and charter flyers added four per cent. Average airline load factors - the percentage of seats occupied on aircraft flying from Cardiff - also rose.
Most new passengers were attracted by services from bmibaby and Thomsonfly, the largest carriers at the capital city airport. However, the fastest growth rate by scheduled airline at Cardiff over the year was recorded by Aer Arann, which served Dublin, Cork, Galway and Nantes. Newest entrants to the Cardiff market in 2007 were Flybe, which launched flights to Paris and Belfast City, and Highland Airways, operating to Anglesey.
Peter Phillips, the airport's Head of Marketing and Communications, commented: "Business and leisure passengers alike are rejecting the hassle and uncertainties of a long drive to catch flights. We see this trend continuing well into the next decade and made provision for it with last year's Euro 10 million investment in airport facilities."
Among new services being launched in 2008 from Cardiff International Airport are Warsaw and Gdansk by bmibaby; an extended domestic network from Flybe, taking in Jersey, Newcastle, Glasgow and Edinburgh; and flights to Newquay by Skybus.
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Should be expecting further growth at CWL with the addition of Flybe and the new routes from BmiBaby.