7. Will the First Minister provide an update on plans for the development of Cardiff Airport? OAQ53108

Yes. I remember my predecessor, Rhodri Morgan, writing an article in the Western Mail where he said that my entire time as First Minister would be judged on the performance of Cardiff Airport. On that basis, I'm entirely happy to be judged, then, on that. Other people will have different views—I understand that—but, of course, Cardiff Airport has ambitious plans for growth and a vision until 2040. They can be found in the airport’s master plan that was jointly launched by ourselves and the airport in July.

I'd like to thank the First Minister for securing the future of Cardiff Airport, and also welcome, as he has, the latest passenger figures, which show that during the last financial year, total passenger numbers grew year on year by 9 per cent to reach 1.48 million. And also, just to follow up representations that I know you have made consistently, First Minister, to the UK Government regarding devolving air passenger duty—of course, there is cross-party support here for that—it's clear it would have a beneficial impact for Cardiff Airport and for Wales, so where do you think we're going in terms of those negotiations?   

First of all, it's been personally a great pleasure for me to see the growth in the airport. I'd like to pay tribute to Roger Lewis, to Debra Barber and all those who work at the airport who've done so much to ensure its future. I knew there was a future there if it was run properly, and that's what we intended to do, which is why, of course, we didn't try and run it ourselves via politicians or civil servants; it was run and is being run by an arm's-length company. And we see, of course, the great growth in passenger numbers that there's been in that time. 

APD is a huge disappointment. It's in the Secretary of State for Wales's constituency, and it's a huge shame that he has not been able to deliver APD to the airport. Scotland has it; there are talks in Northern Ireland. The real reason—. There are two reasons why we haven't had it. Firstly, the Treasury regret very much having given it to Scotland, so they don't want to give it to us. Secondly, Liam Fox represents, if I remember rightly, the area that Bristol Airport is in, and I don't think he's been particularly supportive of APD. Bristol has said that Cardiff is a threat to the airport. I don't see it that way. We need Bristol because if we have big events in the stadium, we need Bristol Airport; we're not out to get Bristol Airport. But I do think that Cardiff has huge potential in terms of long haul, particularly. There are greater advantages that Bristol has got, and even if we had long-haul APD devolved, that would promote huge growth in passenger numbers in the airport and also, of course, take some pressure—let's not over-exaggerate—but some pressure off Heathrow. And Cardiff is the airport in the western part of this island that is best placed to deal with that long- haul traffic. It's a great shame that the UK Government can't see that, and can't see that it would help to take the pressure off the London airports.  

It is ironic, I think, that with the clock going on, this might well be the last question, and I'll leave my comments to the next statement about your time as First Minister, if I may, First Minister. But you and I duelled in this Chamber over Cardiff Airport many times, and it'll be interesting to see, once the £100 plus million that the Welsh Government has put into the airport—the longevity of that facility. It is vital that we do have an airport, but it's also vital that you bring private partners in to support the airport, which, in fairness to you, First Minister, I think you've identified as being a goal of the Welsh Government. Can you update the Chamber as to the progress that the Welsh Government might have made in enticing private partners to come in and take a stake, or take some sort of equity in the airport, which will facilitate greater investment? I do go back to my comments that the Welsh Government have put in excess of £100 million into the airport to date. That clearly is not sustainable in itself, so private equity is required.    

First of all, the purchase of the airport was, if I remember rightly, £52 million, and then, of course, there has been a series of loans that have been made available to the airport. That money is not lost. My intention always was that the airport would increase in value, and it has, well beyond the purchase price that we paid. And there would come a point when private equity would then get involved. It's difficult to see a situation where the Welsh Government didn't have a golden share in any company but, certainly, we'd welcome private investment coming in to help the airport to develop. The question has always been when. When I spoke to Qatar Airways at the start of the year, I asked the view of their chief executive. His view at that point was, 'Well, don't do it yet.'  There's still time for the airport to build up, but there'll come a time when looking for private partners will become part of the airport's future.

It's got an exciting future, and the one thing, again, I used to be asked was, 'Does Wales have an international airport?' I know it's in the south, and I know that people in the north of Wales are not going to use Cardiff very much, but it was hugely important symbolically that we had an international airport. That did not mean that we should take on board something that was a basket case that was never going to work, but we've seen with all the flights coming into Cardiff now, with the refurbishment of the airport, that we now have an airport in south Wales that we can be proud of. And if Rhodri was right in terms of judging me on my performance on the airport then I can only be content.

If truth be told, Anglesey Airport is reliant on Cardiff Airport and the success of Cardiff Airport, but Brexit is a threat to both of those airports in terms of public service obligations. Now, with the European Union seeming to be eager to provide more flexibility to introduce more flights, and the UK Government rejecting that—and we had a statement on this yesterday from the transport Secretary—will you encourage the new First Minister, and whoever is the new transport Secretary, to put as much pressure as possible on the UK Government to make that bid to the EU to allow this flexibility in order to encourage and allow more flights in Anglesey and in Cardiff under the European arrangements before Brexit?

Well, that work will continue, and it's true to say, of course, that the future of Ynys Môn airport is dependent on Cardiff Airport, and that is why I have been so supportive over the years of the service between the two airports. I know that the history has been difficult now and then, but it is a service that is up there with the best now, and we see that more people are beginning to use those aeroplanes because it's a larger aeroplane, and, of course, some people don't like to travel on smaller aeroplanes. But there are opportunities too for Ynys Môn airport—how can you link Ynys Môn into Cardiff so that people fly from Ynys Môn to Cardiff and then outwards in the same way as they fly to Schiphol and now, of course, to Doha? There are opportunities there to expand the services available from Ynys Môn airport, not, of course, just to link north and south Wales, but also to link Ynys Môn and Gwynedd, through Cardiff, to the rest of Europe.

Thank you, First Minister.