Cardiff: Airport Questions & Reviews

[StanMan]

A very well considered and constuctive review! It's very encouraging for CWL - let's hope many more have such a positive experience.
Having flown from both CWL and BRS quite a few times in recent years, I much prefer CWL...but I am quite biased, so a more 'balanced view' is good!

 

[MJC73]

I have just returned from Oslo, using KLM to go via Schipol. The journey was an absolute dream and so very easy. It probably did cost a few quid more than London but the time saved is/was more than recompense.

On arrival the Ireland rugby drops and returns were in full flow - the image shows a Belfast City arrival and two of the Ryanair services. The terminal was buzzing with travellers and it felt very alive.

The staff were friendly and I'd echo the comments regarding the security area. Come summer season I look forward to seeing it at full bore. Costa coffee was good for Costa coffee 😎 and the Duty Free had some great deals on Hensol Gin.

As for flights, the flight to Amsterdam was full and coming back this afternoon there were maybe 10 seats not taken. Number in the departure queues in the Schipol basement showed Cardiff, Bristol and Aberdeen to be about equal - a Heathrow flight was cancelled today. There were at least 20/25 non Welsh travellers so the taxi stand was doing trade with a few more waiting by the bus stop.

Landing was smooth (in a Cityhopper with a SkyTeam livery). The city, Penarth, Sully, Barry metro area looked pretty much as one. The weather helped but if that was an initial landing it would probably impress.

Lastly, there were/are a hell of alot more cars than I would have expected for end of February but it would obviously be positive if there were more.

 

[Jerry]

There were at least 20/25 non Welsh travellers so the taxi stand was doing trade with a few more waiting by the bus stop.

That's good to hear as much as the route is important for Welsh people travelling its important for inbound tourism and business. Glad you had a good experience.
That's boarding bridge could do with a wash though!

In the long term, and I mean 5-10yrs, they really need to get onto the government and rail companies to get the airport served along the South Wales mainline as that is a sure way to increase passenger reliance on public transport and drive further growth...as I said, that is a long way off just yet but not beyond the realms of possibility.

There was a suggestion a while ago of changing the airport rail link to Barry station. Idk if that will go ahead or not. I do think the rail link is a good way of getting to Cardiff.

 

[Samdorob]

I have just returned from Oslo, using KLM to go via Schipol. The journey was an absolute dream and so very easy. It probably did cost a few quid more than London but the time saved is/was more than recompense.

On arrival the Ireland rugby drops and returns were in full flow - the image shows a Belfast City arrival and two of the Ryanair services. The terminal was buzzing with travellers and it felt very alive.

The staff were friendly and I'd echo the comments regarding the security area. Come summer season I look forward to seeing it at full bore. Costa coffee was good for Costa coffee 😎 and the Duty Free had some great deals on Hensol Gin.

As for flights, the flight to Amsterdam was full and coming back this afternoon there were maybe 10 seats not taken. Number in the departure queues in the Schipol basement showed Cardiff, Bristol and Aberdeen to be about equal - a Heathrow flight was cancelled today. There were at least 20/25 non Welsh travellers so the taxi stand was doing trade with a few more waiting by the bus stop.

Landing was smooth (in a Cityhopper with a SkyTeam livery). The city, Penarth, Sully, Barry metro area looked pretty much as one. The weather helped but if that was an initial landing it would probably impress.

Lastly, there were/are a hell of alot more cars than I would have expected for end of February but it would obviously be positive if there were more.

If you landed this evening, I was on the beach at the Knap. I took particular interest as it wasn’t the usual KLM livery.

There was a suggestion a while ago of changing the airport rail link to Barry station. Idk if that will go ahead or not. I do think the rail link is a good way of getting to Cardiff.

I would say moving it to Barry would give the benefit of more trains per hour. 3 or 4 I believe as opposed to the current 1 per hour. It would just need a bus to meet it going from Barry or Barry Docks to the airport. I think it’s a 10 to 15 minute journey.

 

[Jerry]

If you landed this evening, I was on the beach at the Knap. I took particular interest as it wasn’t the usual KLM livery.

I would say moving it to Barry would give the benefit of more trains per hour. 3 or 4 I believe as opposed to the current 1 per hour. It would just need a bus to meet it going from Barry or Barry Docks to the airport. I think it’s a 10 to 15 minute journey.

Yes i believe that is the idea more frequency of trains especially with the Metro.

 

[Jerry]

Flew Ryanair from Cardiff for the first time today and for the first time since the security revamp has been completed. Check in was quiet when I got there and I breezed through security as it was quiet as I arrived after the lunchtime TUI rush. The new security area looked really nice and the new scanners make it a lot more easier to go through security. Once through security there was the new stalls with only one being occupied the Biltong one. I headed straight through to the lounge which I paid for to see what it was like. It was a quiet space to relax at one time there were the as many staff as passengers 😆 Service is to your table rather than a buffet affair. Food wise hot food is served but it's more breakfast and lunch items. Pancakes, bacon roll, soup and potato skins (i had the latter 2 items) and you can only choose 2 items. Snacks like cakes and crisps are unlimited. Drinks 4 alcoholic drinks and unlimited soft drinks. Overall it's a nice place and an improvement on the last time I used it. KLM passengers have their own section but idk what is different for them. When i left departures was pretty busy with Dublin, Alicante and Amsterdam being the next departures though after them the only departure then was Loganair to Edinburgh. My flight to Dublin boarded from gate 3 so it wasn't that far to walk and I was able to get to see the aircraft land and come onto stand and noticed quite a few Welsh football fans get off the aircraft, I guess they used Ryanair to get to Brussels. Boarding was via steps which I always prefer and we got to spend some time on the apron before they let us on. The flight was probably not even 2/3rds full and I had 2 seats spare next to me. One thing I noticed is that some of the passengers weren't Irish or Welsh. There were North American and Australian voices amongst the passengers as well so possibly doing onward connections maybe.
As we departed it was good to see another Ryanair aircraft on the ground.
The flight itself was quick with a clear day giving good views especially of the Welsh coast, the crew were friendly enough and the seat pretty comfy with good legroom and for Ryanair the landing was practically smooth 😆
Overall I had a really good experience using Cardiff Airport and Ryanair. Hopefully we'll see them continue to grow at the airport and they'll help get Cardiff back over the 1 million passenger mark in the future.
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[Em0866]

I've just got back from Bulgaria on holiday flying from CWL to BOJ with TUI. My experience at CWL outward and return were excellent. My partner needs assistance and I can say that it was faultless, and service with a smile. Security was quick on the outgoing flight and passport control on the return was a breeze. Baggage collection was quick and I left the airport in less than 30 minutes from landing.

The outgoing and incoming flights weren't completely full, there were a handful of empty seats on both flights but the whole airport experience was very positive from both the angle of a passenger and also using the assistance provided. I'll be off again in the winter but to FUE next time on their first flight on 20 December so I'll see how that experience compares

 

[Jerry]

I've just got back from Bulgaria on holiday flying from CWL to BOJ with TUI. My experience at CWL outward and return were excellent. My partner needs assistance and I can say that it was faultless, and service with a smile. Security was quick on the outgoing flight and passport control on the return was a breeze. Baggage collection was quick and I left the airport in less than 30 minutes from landing.

The outgoing and incoming flights weren't completely full, there were a handful of empty seats on both flights but the whole airport experience was very positive from both the angle of a passenger and also using the assistance provided. I'll be off again in the winter but to FUE next time on their first flight on 20 December so I'll see how that experience compares

Good to hear!

 

[Jack Ruckley]

Cardiff security issues Sunday 18th January

On the social media platform X someone flying from Cardiff posted a rant about security at Cardiff and how slow and ridiculous it was.

In my opinion it’s a bit ridiculous to have 5 lanes and only use 1 and when I’ve been at Cardiff theres been 8-10 spare security persons standing around doing nothings so it’s baffling why they didn’t open another lane

At 10:00 - 10:30 there was 4 flights this morning equivalent to a max of 667 passengers so a busy morning for Cardiff.

It’s a shame to see bad service stories online about Cardiff and it’s rare to see people moaning about queues here.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2012804895401738610

 

[Jerry]

They may not have had the staff available to open more than one lane. It is winter so many may be off.

 

[Jarvo]

I'd be surprised if the majority of people weren't using the e gates tbh. Like in Tesco, there's usually no need for 6 checkout people to be sat by belts

 

[Jerry]

I'd be surprised if the majority of people weren't using the e gates tbh. Like in Tesco, there's usually no need for 6 checkout people to be sat by belts

E gates are for immigration not security but considering how quiet the airport is atm it's probably on minimal staffing.

 

[Jarvo]

E gates are for immigration not security but considering how quiet the airport is atm it's probably on minimal staffing.

My reading skills clearly need improvement. It's been a while since I've been through CWL, I didn't even recognise the security area! They've done a brilliant job on that!

 

[Jerry]

My reading skills clearly need improvement. It's been a while since I've been through CWL, I didn't even recognise the security area! They've done a brilliant job on that!

Yep it is much nicer and bigger. I can understand people being frustrated especially when they see empty security scanners not being used.