Can I thank Russell George and say at the outset, 'Yes, my assessment today is the same as it was last week, now that the UK Government has saved an airline, just as the Welsh Government, in years gone by, saved an important airport'? And I am delighted that the UK Government is now an interventionist Government, following in the footsteps of the Welsh Government. Discussions take place regularly between the airport directly and Flybe, and the Welsh Government and the airport. Something in the region of 310,000 passengers were carried from and to Cardiff Airport in the last year—that's 310,000 of the 1.7 million, so it has a considerable impact on the airport.

When we carried out due diligence on the offer of the loan, we factored in various scenarios, including the collapse of certain airlines, and we were confident, based on our assessment, that the loss of Flybe would still allow the airport to operate in a viable and sustainable way. However, it would be with much reduced passenger numbers, and we would wish to see passenger numbers continue to grow rather than to fall, and that's why I'm so very pleased by the outcome of the talks that have taken place between the UK Government and the airline.

But the Government at Westminster could do more to assist in terms of the financial incentives that Russell George has asked questions about today. Just as the Welsh Affairs Committee has recommended, the UK Government could devolve air passenger duty to Wales, and the Welsh Government could then make a decision on how it utilises APD in order to incentivise not just the use of Cardiff Airport and routes from it, but also the transition that airlines need to undertake from highly-polluting aircraft to lower-polluting aircraft. We could model an APD regime that allows us to incentivise the use of Cardiff Airport by airlines that operate those lowest-emitting aircraft. 

Further measures that could be undertaken to improve the range of journeys that are undertaken and offered from Cardiff Airport include support for the public service obligation routes that we have proposed to the UK Government, but which to date it has decided not to proceed with recommending to the European Commission. If it would support those public service obligation routes, then a significant increase in passenger numbers would be injected into the business model of the airport.

I am confident—based on a growth in revenue of over 34 per cent in the last year and a positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the second year running—that the airport stands in a very strong position. But the whole of the aviation sector right now is going through a difficult period, and that's why it's absolutely right that not just the Welsh Government but the UK Government, as demonstrated by yesterday, stands ready to help the sector.

It's absolutely vital in terms of economic growth. It's vital in terms of providing direct and indirect jobs, such as the 2,500 that Cardiff Airport supports in south Wales. And it's absolutely vital in keeping communities within Wales and the UK better connected than they would otherwise be without those airports. For example, would Anglesey Airport be viable without Cardiff Airport? I very much doubt it, Llywydd.