Flights between Cardiff and Anglesey permanently axed by Welsh Government

A direct flight between Cardiff and Anglesey has been axed by the Welsh Government.

The twice a day flight was suspended at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. Ministers announced today it will not be returning. The move will see 7 roles being made redundant.

The £2.9 million spent on the service each year will now be used to improve public transport in north Wales. There had been discussions within the Welsh Government about whether the flight, which takes around 45 minutes, should come back.

Deputy Minister for Climate Change Lee Waters said: “We don’t think passenger levels will return to a level that makes this service viable economically or environmentally.

"Instead, we will invest the money saved from running the service into improving public transport in north Wales. This will benefit more people and help us reach our Net Zero target by 2050”.

Welsh Government officials said that prior to the pandemic around 77 per cent of those using the flight did so for business purposes and, with new working practices that have come in over the past two years, it was unlikely the service would get close to that level.

As well as the business case for the flight, the service's environmental impact was also a factor in the decision. The Welsh Government says an independent carbon impact study it commissioned showed the flight 'had a more negative impact on the environment than any other form of travel between Ynys Mon and Cardiff, unless it was flying close to full capacity each day.'

The analysis found that 28 out of 29 seats available on the plane would have to be full for each flight to bring the per passenger aircraft emissions down to the same as single occupancy car. It also stated that 'the air service was not always the fastest link to Cardiff from north Wales, especially east of Bangor, where rail travel is actually faster, door-to-door.'

The Welsh Conservatives welcomed the announcement, with transport spokesperson Natasha Asghar saying it should have been made soon, as the demand for the service just wasn't there.

"Whilst I understand some people will be frustrated with this news, I believe it is the right decision especially given around £3 million of taxpayer cash is used to prop the service up every year..."

“It is, however, disappointing that Labour ministers have only now axed the airlink. Instead of wasting some £10m on the airlink, which hasn’t operated since the pandemic began, over the last three years, they should’ve taken decisive action and scrapped it as soon as it became a loss-making exercise."

Ms Asghar added that it was now 'vital' for ministers to invest in infrastructure and connectivity in north Wales to ensure those affected by the decision won't lose out.

Plaid Cymru MS for Ynys Môn Rhun ap Iorwerth said he was disappointed with the decision.

“I’ve shown that I’m realistic about the challenges that the air service faces - the fact that the pandemic has reduced the need to travel for business and our growing concern about climate change. But my question to Government was: if not the air link, then what will the Government be offering instead, and where will they be investing to ensure faster north-south connectivity, especially via rail?

“The answer, obviously, is nothing! Every penny of the money spent on the air link should go towards improving north-south transport connectivity, but that commitment is not there."

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds said: “It is a significant amount of public money to spend at a time when the pandemic has changed how we work, and we need to be doing all we can to stop the damage we are causing to our planet.

 “The Welsh Government must now invest in local public transport connections and digital connectivity in north west Wales to ensure that communities can thrive.”

The flight, which was launched in 2007, has had a troubled history with different operators running it over the years. Eastern Airways took over the route in 2017, carrying 1,675 passengers in 2018-2019 and in 2019-20 there were 13,930 passengers.

Ministers say the £2.9m funding earmarked for the air-link will now be used on transport projects in north Wales including faster progress on the North Wales Metroprogramme and also on work to improve rail journey times and service betweenHolyhead and Cardiff. Options for doubling the bus service frequency betweenCaernarfon and Porthmadog, to improve connectivity to rail links to South and Mid-Wales will also be explored.