Cardiff Airport is the international airport for Wales. Cardiff Airport serves the city capital of Cardiff and the south of Wales. Cardiff Airport is served by scheduled, low-fare and charter carriers. It also supports corporate and general aviation.
Cardiff International Airport is owned by TBI plc, a subsidiary of Abertis airports. Cardiff Airport is the main maintenance base for British Airways and home to a variety of aerospace-oriented firms, and therefore a major contributor to the economic development of the region.
Cardiff International Airport attracts around two million passengers a year, according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority and airport statistics. In October 2004, the CardiffInternational Airport was named as one of the top ten best airports in the world, by the Telegraph Travel Awards.
For 2006, new long haul destinations included Vancouver, Canada; Cancun, Mexico; the Dominican Republic; and Egypt. New European destinations include Naples, Galway and Lorient. New UK designations are Manchester and Newquay.
Cardiff International Airport has been home to a number of independent airlines; most notably during the 1950s through to the early 1990s, with airlines such as Cambrian, Airways International Cymru, Amberair and Inter European Airways, making this Vale of Glamorgan airport their home base.
Cardiff International Airport is located in the village of Rhoose, in the Vale of Glamorgan, approximately twelve miles west of the city of Cardiff. Cardiff Airport lies in an area, dubbed by the Welsh Assembly Government as a centre for aviation excellence, with several high-profile aviation companies being located in a small radius. On the airport site British Airways has its major long-haul maintenance facility and Barry College has an avionics and engineering training centre just outside the terminal building.
Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station opened in June 2005 on the Vale of Glanmorgan Line - linking Cardiff Central with Bridgend. The train station is linked by a local free bus service to the airport from the train station and vice versa. A bus service also links Cardiff to the airport. By road, the airport is located 10 miles from junction 33 of the M4 Motorway, in the village of Rhoose in the Vale of Glanmorgan.