TheLocalYokel
Honorary Member Of Forums4airports
- Jan 14, 2009
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Unfortunately, that is very much the case at the moment, or was pre-pandemic. North Wales is overwhelmingly geared to MAN and also LPL, with the remainder of the country's travellers using airports in the south of England and BHX in substantial numbers. Long-haul is probably inevitable and thus the London airports, mainly LHR, are the main conduits for that type of travel to/from Wales, but CWL sees less 'Welsh' traffic than BRS as well.
The positive news is that until the pandemic intruded CWL had been seeing healthy annual passenger gains and had also attracted Qatar Airways. It had reached just under 1.7 mppa, still less than its pre-recession best of just under 2.1 million in 2007, but definitely on the right track.
The hope now is that Wizz Air will establish itself and grow at CWL which, once the pandemic effects begin to recede across the industry, should see 2 mppa very much in the airport's sights. According to an aviation analyst giving evidence to a Welsh Government committee a year or so ago 2mppa is the total at which the disproportionality of fixed costs at the airport should largely disappear.
I mentioned BRS earlier. Had there been no pandemic that airport would have been close to its 10 mppa passenger cap by the end of this year. If it is not allowed to grow further then other airports in the south-west corner of Britain, notably CWL and EXT, would almost certainly benefit with further growth taking place there that might otherwise have gone to BRS.
The Welsh Government and its airport company are understandably strongly opposed to BRS's expansion plans and formally objected to the local authority that rejected the airport's planning application. BRS is in the process of appealing to the Planning Inspectorate and it seems certain that the WG and its airport company will make their case again.
Below is the full objection made by the Welsh Government to North Somerset Unitary Authority - from the public record. The CWL airport company made a broadly similar submission.
Welsh Government Department of Economic Infrastructure
North Somerset Council (NSC) declared a climate emergency at the beginning of 2019. Its commitment, as set out in its Climate Emergency Strategy, is to be a carbon neutral council and a carbon neutral area by 2030. The seven key principles of the Climate Emergency Strategy include, inter alia, reducing emissions from transport.
The application fails to acknowledge the important role Cardiff International Airport plays in serving South Wales and the South West. Cardiff Airport is notably smaller than Bristol Airport but, crucially, it has capacity and aspiration to meet growth in the region.
Presently there is an imbalance in serving air passenger demand in the South West and South Wales region. Bristol airport is already the third largest airport in the UK outside of London. This causes unsustainable travel patterns and unnecessary transport impacts on the strategic road network (SRN) including the M4 and M5, as well as the local road network in South Wales and the South West, particularly rural North Somerset.
Cardiff International Airport’s scale and market penetration is less strong, with unsustainable ‘leakage’ of custom to airports further afield, including Bristol Airport.
A rebalancing of airport related travel in the region would obviate the need for additional development at Bristol airport. Conversely, an increase in capacity at Bristol airport merely serves to reinforce the existing imbalance and increase unsustainable travel patterns of passengers from beyond the South West, such as South Wales. Rural North Somerset is ill equipped to accommodate an exacerbation of the existing level of unsustainable transport movements.
With no expansion of Bristol Airport currently factored into the DfT’s aviation sector model, the proposed expansion should be reviewed by Central Government.
The value creation ascribed to Bristol Airport’s expansion is not newly created value but will likely be displaced from existing airports, as all other airports within the South West and South Wales have capacity.
The application proposals seek to increase market share, through displacement, despite Bristol Airport’s already demonstrably healthy market penetration. This runs counter to, in particular, Policy CS1 and the Council’s Climate Change Emergency Strategy and Strategic Action Plan. The rationale for the development is not considered to be an appropriate approach to managing existing transport infrastructure in the South West region sustainably.
In respect of Site-Specific Policy DM50 “very special circumstances” which may otherwise justify the demonstrable harm the development will have on, inter alia, the Green Belt and wider environment have not been demonstrated.
We reiterate Cardiff Airport and others can readily serve increased passenger numbers in South Wales and the South West.
It is noteworthy that many representations to the airport proposals fundamentally question why the airport needs to expand its capacity.
The application does not demonstrate the very special circumstances which may otherwise provide justification for Green Belt development, contrary Policy DM50. Based on need
Policy CS1 makes it clear North Somerset Council is committed to reducing carbon emissions and tackling climate change, mitigating further impacts and supporting adaptation to its effects. The development will be to the detriment of environmental considerations, such as ecological, landscape, air quality, transport and noise impacts; all of which are negatively impacted and require mitigation which could otherwise be avoided.
The Welsh Government has already made significant investment in terminal improvements and route development at Cardiff International Airport. The application’s cursory consideration of the potential of alternative airports to meet passenger demand is not credible.
