For those who would like to see Cardiff Airport thrive BBC News Wales has a disheartening item today :

[…] Swiss carrier Helvetic is pulling out of Cardiff Airport, two years after the Welsh government spent £500,000 marketing Wales in Switzerland.

Helvetic started flying to Zurich from Cardiff in 2011, but had already dropped winter services after low demand and will not fly this summer. […]

BBC Radio Wales also covered the news of Helvetic’s withdrawal and there’s a audio clip from this morning.

The accompanying news that operator Vueling is to increase services to Malaga and Alicante is a small consolation. We also note the recent reports of a possible new route to Hawarden in north east Wales once work on the new terminal there is completed.

As we’ve maintained from the start and as Cardiff Airport themselves have stated, air routes are the MOST important factor in the success or failure of the Airport.

That is, tinkering with the railway in the Vale of Glamorgan through the adding of a spur is not the answer – and would be a source of other big problems as we’ve outlined in previous posts here. In particular, can the daily commuters who live in the Vale be reassured that the rail services – already squeezed – will not be threatened by the addition of a needless extra burden on the line? We’ll have to wait for the new draft LDP from the Council before knowing for sure.