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<p>The Government acknowledges that this will be a difficult time for Flybe’s passengers
and staff. Our immediate priority has been to support people travelling home and employees
who have lost their jobs. Flybe hasn’t operated from Cardiff Airport since 2020 and
we recognise the impact this has had on the airport in the years since.</p><p>Financial
assistance to providers or air transport services is a devolved matter and therefore
in the hands of the Welsh Government, although officials at the Department for Transport
engage regularly with the Welsh Government on aviation policy.</p><p>With specific
regard to Cardiff Airport, a robust strategy is urgently needed to ensure the sustainability
of Cardiff Airport, having originally been bought by the Welsh Government for £52m
in 2013 and has since (in 2021) been valued at just £15m.</p><p>This year marks a
decade since the Welsh Government bought Cardiff Airport. We’ve seen warnings raised
over the site’s future sustainability and have seen major airlines – such as Wizz
Air and Flybe – ceasing all operations at the site. There are no signs of improvement.
Annual passenger numbers have fallen since the pandemic, down from 1.6 million in
2019 to 812,000 in the year to November 2022.</p><p>It’s absolutely crucial that the
Welsh Government publishes a comprehensive strategy to place the airport on a more
sustainable footing, with a crucial aim of returning it to the commercial sector at
the earliest opportunity. Doing so, I hope, would be of benefit to the people of Newport
West, Wales and the rest of the UK.</p>
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