More new services including long-haul cruise flights

Europe’s largest airline group has launched a low-cost route to Dusseldorf from Cardiff Airport starting in Spring 2014, while luxury Caribbean tour operator, Sandals, is introducing its first Barbados flight from Wales.

Germanwings, owned by Lufthansa Group, will first take off from Cardiff for Dusseldorf on Saturday 5th April, with flights departing on a weekly basis and prices starting at £75.73 or €89.99. The route is an important strand of the strategy to bring more tourists to Wales, and the airport team has worked closely with Visit Wales, the Welsh Government tourism body, to secure it.

The two-week Sandals flight to the multi-award-winning, luxury all-inclusive operator’s newest resort in Barbados departs on Sunday 9th March. Sandals Barbados opened in 2013 and offers luxury accommodation, adventurous watersports, culture and nightlife, as well as beaches of white sand and beautiful landscaped gardens.

In addition, P&O Cruises’ new chartered flights to Barbados from Cardiff Airport in January and February 2014 sold out in just a matter of weeks after being launched earlier this year.

This news follows Vueling’s winter programme expansion from Cardiff, with additional flights to Spanish airports, Malaga and Alicante operating all year round, and Flybe’s addition of ski flights to Chambéry, Lyon, Grenoble and Geneva.

The new services are being delivered alongside an ongoing programme to enhance the overall customer experience at the airport, with more planned improvements to be announced in the coming months.

Cardiff Airport Chief Executive, Jon Horne, said the developments are encouraging.

“The ongoing success we have in attracting new services means the hard work of the team here is paying off. It is also encouraging that airlines and tour operators are making these commitments to Cardiff Airport and Wales and this gives us confidence that we are on track to achieve our longer term goals.”