Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Climate Change – in the Senedd at 1:40 pm on 11 January 2023.

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Photo of Lee Waters Lee Waters Labour 1:40, 11 January 2023

Thank you very much. Well, nobody saw it coming because it was a decision by the company, in the face of what they described as macroeconomic conditions, to withdraw from the airport; they've withdrawn from other airports too. The whole industry is facing significant pressures from inflation and the rising cost of energy. And also, aviation is a sector with quite a precarious business model, often operating on very small margins, so when we do have external forces like this shifting the terms of trade, that has a knock-on effect that cannot be anticipated, and certainly can't be easily mitigated by us. I don't accept that this throws into doubt our commitment to the airport, or indeed its future, and it's still on a pathway towards profitability. It's now, sadly, going to be a longer pathway, because this is a significant customer for the airport, but we are working closely with the airport management to look at alternative options.