Passenger numbers decline
Cardiff has seen 28 consecutive monthly percentage falls in passenger numbers (CAA stats).
The last time there was a monthly increase was May 2008 with a 4.6% rise on May 2007.
May 2008 coincided with the end of the airport's best ever 12-month period when 2,100,727 passengers were handled.
Since then numbers have decreased by almost 32% to 1,429,012 for the 12-month period ending September 2010, against a decline in flight numbers of 23.5%.
It's been pointed out that of the other two significant airports in south-west Britain Exeter, which has had a broadly similar downward path as Cardiff, seems at last to have reached or at least approached the bottom whilst Bristol whose passenger numbers began to be adversely affected by the recession five months later than Cardiff has seen percentage rises every month this year (except the ash cloud affected April) and is now 9% below its all time best 12-month period.
As with bear stock markets the floor is always difficult to call but it's not unreasonable to suppose that, as mathers suggests, there will be some increase in passenger numbers at Cardiff next year, however modest, not least because the base upon which to build has sunk so low.
Clearly the airport is in need of a boost with passenger numbers now at levels last seen in 2002 but there are hopes that another airline or even two might set up bases, with others increasing their presence as the world economy improves.
There is much work to be done as CWL will have to grow its passenger numbers by nearly 50% merely to get back to where it was in the early part of 2008.