Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:46 pm on 7 January 2020.
Well, Llywydd, it's good to see that, at the start of another year, the Conservative Party in Wales continues to attack one of Wales's essential assets. Since the airport was taken into public ownership, its passenger numbers have increased by over 70 per cent, its turnover was up by £2.9 million last year over the year before. I know that any evidence of success comes as a disappointment to the Conservative Party, but those are the facts of the matter: passenger numbers are up by over 70 per cent, and a revenue growth of over 34 per cent. Now, let us hope that we now have a Secretary of State for Wales who will speak up for Cardiff Airport, just as Bristol MPs have spoken up for its airport. Now we have a Deputy Minister in the Wales Office who believes that air passenger duty being devolved to Wales is the right answer; let's hope that he can persuade his Government to do the same. Then we will see the sort of airport that we want to see on this side, whereas his party has only, absolutely only ever, sought to run down the airport, to deny its importance to the economy of Wales, and never has a single constructive suggestion to make about it.