Zurich-based Helvetic has pulled the plug on services to Cardiff Airport just two years after being wooed to the city by the Welsh government.
The decision comes as little surprise as the Swiss carrier axed services to the airport this winter, citing low demand for its decision.An MSP study for the Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA) said the Welsh government should buy Cardiff Airport from Spain’s Abertis Group but then replace both airports with a new Severnside gateway. The report sees growing airport capacity in London as a threat for air connectivity in Wales and the West of England. A new 24-hour airport on the Severn estuary would attract 10-11 million customers per year if Cardiff and Bristol are closed, according to the report. "A decade ago we made a study of the concept of a Severnside airport for Newport Council," said the author, former BA strategy head John Borkowski. "We believe there is still an opportunity to build this on the edge of the estuary between Newport and Chepstow... It would take nearly 10 years to plan and build, but the eventual and co-ordinated closure of Cardiff and Bristol Airports would mean that it would have 10-11 million passsengers a year from the start." Helvetic has flown to Cardiff since 2011. Cardiff Airport recently announced new flights from Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling.Source: routenews, Piers Evans
Gravity always wins!