Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of Flybe being placed in administration on people in (a) Newport West constituency and (b) Wales.

The Government acknowledges that this will be a difficult time for Flybe’s passengers and staff. Our immediate priority has been to support people travelling home and employees who have lost their jobs. Flybe hasn’t operated from Cardiff Airport since 2020 and we recognise the impact this has had on the airport in the years since.

Financial assistance to providers or air transport services is a devolved matter and therefore in the hands of the Welsh Government, although officials at the Department for Transport engage regularly with the Welsh Government on aviation policy.

With specific regard to Cardiff Airport, a robust strategy is urgently needed to ensure the sustainability of Cardiff Airport, having originally been bought by the Welsh Government for £52m in 2013 and has since (in 2021) been valued at just £15m.

This year marks a decade since the Welsh Government bought Cardiff Airport. We’ve seen warnings raised over the site’s future sustainability and have seen major airlines – such as Wizz Air and Flybe – ceasing all operations at the site. There are no signs of improvement. Annual passenger numbers have fallen since the pandemic, down from 1.6 million in 2019 to 812,000 in the year to November 2022.

It’s absolutely crucial that the Welsh Government publishes a comprehensive strategy to place the airport on a more sustainable footing, with a crucial aim of returning it to the commercial sector at the earliest opportunity. Doing so, I hope, would be of benefit to the people of Newport West, Wales and the rest of the UK.