Politician and rugby star unveil Cardiff Airport’s latest terminal upgrade

CEREMONY: Sam Warburton and Ken Skates cut the ribbon

Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport Ken States cut the ceremonial ribbon along with Welsh international ruby union and Lions star Sam Warburton. The pair also unveiled a plaque marking the occasion made from Welsh slate.

The £4 million investment into the improvement of the customer experience has seen developments to both the terminal and the airport’s surrounding infrastructure.

Within the terminal these include:

• Additional seating in the departure lounge for passengers to relax before travelling, with views of the runway
• WH Smith has relocated and extended its store in the departure lounge.
• Two new Costa Coffee branches, one in the arrivals hall and a larger café for passengers in the departure lounge.
• A new look executive lounge and a brand new business lounge, renamed the 51° Lounge
• An upgraded hold baggage screening system to meet enhanced security requirements.

Further improvements to Cardiff Airport’s surrounding infrastructure includes the opening of a new car hire centre, which is located close to the main terminal and is a base for EuropCar, Enterprise, Hertz and Avis.

The car park will also be enhanced with the addition of a brand new meet-and-greet facility for customers, which is due to launch in the coming months.

Deb Barber, CEO at Cardiff Airport said; “[The] unveiling is the culmination of months of planning and the hard work of the Cardiff Airport team and contractors who supported our vision of being an outstanding capital city airport delivering an exceptional customer experience.  

“The latest investment will significantly transform the experience for customers, offering more choice and quality in modern, welcoming surroundings. This is especially important at a time when we are experiencing passenger growth and working with our airline partners to introduce more choice in services for our customers.

“With the summer season now underway and the imminent launch of Qatar Airways on May 1 these latest improvements show our commitment to our customers and we sincerely hope that everyone travelling through Cardiff will enjoy these new facilities.”

Ken Skates, Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport, added: “I am delighted to be unveiling Cardiff Airport’s new departure lounge, along with the other improvements that have been designed to improve the customer experience.

“Since the Welsh Government acquired Cardiff Airport it has gone from strength to strength with passenger numbers now at nearly 1.5 million a year, and flights from the Airport landing at over 50 destinations.

“These latest improvements come at an exciting time for the Airport with new routes, including Qatar Airways’ long haul flights to the Middle East, starting soon and opening up exciting and new tourism and trade links between South Wales and the rest of the world. These new facilities put us in an excellent position to make the very most of those opportunities.”

Passenger numbers as of the end of the 2017/18 are currently 10 per cent up, with over 1.48 million having flown through Cardiff Airport over the last 12 months. Passenger growth has grown by more than 50 per cent since the change of ownership in March 2013, with double digit growth projected for the coming year.