The Welsh Government has admitted it has no idea how long the legal challenge will take to resolve
The Welsh Government wants to give a further £205m to Cardiff Airport (Image: Western Mail)
The Welsh Government has said it will enter a legal battle over its plans to give a further £205m subsidy to Cardiff Airport. We already knew that lawyers working on behalf of Bristol Airport had written to the Welsh Government about Cardiff Airport but now it has been confirmed Bristol is taking legal action and that the Welsh Government has vowed to “defend” the challenge.
In July last year the Welsh Government said it would give up to £206m to the airport across a ten-year period, saying it wanted to grow businesses linked to the airport and increase passenger numbers.
That led to a scathing response from Bristol Airport, which you can read about here.
In a letter the airport’s CEO Dave Lees said the Welsh Government spending £205.2m on the airport was “unprecedented”. “This brings the total state funding being awarded to Cardiff Airport since it was nationalised to £286 for every household in Wales,” he wrote. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
“The proposed subsidy would exceed Cardiff Airport’s current annual turnover, in each year of the planned 10-year duration.
“No other airport in the UK has ever received anything close to this level of public subsidy, and as such it is unprecedented, and comes on top of the nearly £200m of taxpayers’ money already provided to Cardiff Airport.”
The funding could, the airport argued, distort competition, and risks reducing air travel choice for customers, including those living in south Wales.
In a statement published today, Wales’ economy minister Rebecca Evans wrote: “On 25 June, the Welsh Government received notice that Bristol Airport is challenging the decision of the Welsh Ministers by way of an appeal to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). A summary of the principal grounds of the legal challenge will be published on the CAT website.
“The Welsh Government will defend this legal challenge. Cardiff Airport is of vital importance to the economy of the South Wales region – with thousands of jobs stemming from the airport and the economic ecosystem supported by it.”
She goes on to say it is not clear how long any legal challenge could take to conclude. “I will update the Senedd when we have clarity over the outcome of the challenge.
“I can reassure [Senedd] members that there will be no impact on day-to-day operations at Cardiff Airport during the legal challenge,” she adds in her letter.
“However, as the Welsh Government is now in a litigation process, Ministers will be limited in what they can provide to the Senedd in terms of updates and responses to questions. It is imperative that we let the independent legal process run its course in proper order.”
The economy minister added: “The Welsh Government remains very confident that, with the right investment, Cardiff Airport has the potential to make an even greater contribution to our economy, creating additional jobs and further boosting regional GVA.
“We share the pride that the people of Wales have in our national Airport and remain steadfast in our support for its future. We will fight for our ability to invest in its long-term prosperity and shape its economic destiny.”
Speaking in the Senedd after issuing that statement, Ms Evans was asked by Conservative MS Sam Rowlands when the Welsh Government would “sell the airport to someone who actually knows what they are doing”.
Ms Evans said the ongoing appeal meant she could not discuss the case at length, but she said the airport was important to the economy of south Wales.
“We believe very strongly with the right investment the airport has the potential to make an even greater contribution to the economy,” she said.
She said the Welsh Government had “confidence” in the airport’s economic growth potential.