CARDIFF AIRPORT: Passengers rank Welsh airport fifth best in the UK in Which? survey

The airport most of south west Wales flies from has been ranked the fifth best in the UK by the people who use it, with five stars for the parts of the journey travellers dread most: the security and passport queues.

Cardiff Airport scored 77% in Which?’s latest airport survey and was named a Which? Recommended Provider, placing fifth of the 27 UK airports the consumer group assessed.

It landed on an awkward day. Hours after the survey results went out, a technical failure at air traffic control provider NATS grounded departures across the UK, with Cardiff among the airports affected, though the airport said at the time its impact was “minimal”.

The network was still recovering on Wednesday morning, with around 170 further cancellations, nearly all at Heathrow, according to FlightRadar24.

Five stars came for security queues, passport control queues and cleanliness, with four stars in areas including seating. Which? described the airport as well-designed, with passengers praising easy navigation, friendly staff and efficient check-in.

Exeter topped the table, according to Which?’s published results, while Manchester’s Terminal 3 finished bottom.

The Cardiff verdict rests on a smaller sample than the big hubs: 76 respondents, of the 6,067 people the survey asked about 8,383 airport visits in April and May.

A million passengers, Toronto and a shot at a global award

The rating lands on the best run the airport has had in years. More than a million passengers have flown through in the past 12 months, and Civil Aviation Authority figures have shown passenger numbers up 24% and then 16% against the same quarters last year.

The year’s biggest addition was WestJet’s direct Toronto service, which landed in May and restored Wales’s first direct Canada link in almost 20 years. The airport says the four-times-weekly summer service is now on sale for 2027.

The airlines have noticed too: Cardiff is one of five finalists at the Routes World Awards, voted for by the carriers themselves, with the winner announced in Frankfurt on 22 October. Its only previous win came in 1998.

Jon Bridge, chief executive of Cardiff Airport, said the result was “a real testament to the teams who work hard every day to deliver a positive experience for our customers.”

“To be named a Which? Recommended Provider and ranked fifth among 27 UK airports is a significant achievement, particularly when considered alongside the growth we have seen across the airport over the past year,” he said.

“Most importantly, the Which? results show that our growth is being matched by a strong passenger experience. We will continue to focus on making Cardiff Airport an easy, efficient and welcoming place to start a journey.”

Ryanair trims and a missing Qatar link: the other side of the ledger

It has not all been one-way traffic. Ryanair trimmed its winter Dublin and Alicante flights from Cardiff only last week, after Vueling pulled both its Spanish routes for the season.

The recovery has ground left to cover too: before the pandemic the airport handled well over 1.6 million passengers a year, and long-haul carrier Qatar Airways has never returned.

The airport, owned by the Welsh Government since 2013, says it supports thousands of jobs across south Wales and contributes more than £200m a year to the Welsh economy.

Its route team will be in Frankfurt for the awards next month either way, meeting airlines about further services.

That, more than any trophy or star rating, is the part passengers will feel on the departures board.

Author

Kit Peters

Kit Peters is a journalist and the editor of Swansea Bay News, covering Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire since 2020.