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Cardiff Airport has 'long-haul flights potential' Cardiff Airport has 'long-haul flights potential'
(35 minutes later)
Plans to attract long haul services from Cardiff Airport have been submitted to a commission looking at air capacity in the UK.Plans to attract long haul services from Cardiff Airport have been submitted to a commission looking at air capacity in the UK.
The Western Gateway proposals include making better use of the spare capacity at Cardiff to reduce congestion at airports in the south east of England.The Western Gateway proposals include making better use of the spare capacity at Cardiff to reduce congestion at airports in the south east of England.
It calls for air passenger duty to be reduced for flights in Wales. It calls for air passenger duty to be reduced for flights from Wales.
The airport, owned by the Welsh government, has seen passengers numbers fall to just below 1m to March 2013. The Welsh government-owned airport has seen passengers numbers fall to just below one million to March 2013.
The proposals put forward by a group of academics and business people come as a one-day conference is held in the city. Passenger numbers had hit a peak of two million in 2007.
First Minister Carwyn Jones is expected to say the airport "plays a crucial role" in Wales' economy. The airport has also faced competition from its more successful neighbour, Bristol Airport.
The airport, which was bough from its previous Spanish owners for £52m in March, is already undergoing a £500,000 facelift to promote Welsh culture and heritage. The latest proposals put forward by a group of academics and business people come as a one-day conference is held in the city.
But the latest passenger figures released in April showed that the airport had seen a 15% slump for the year to March - dipping to just below one million. The group says that regional airports have a role to play in reducing the pressure on Heathrow and the other more congested airports - with Cardiff offering more than neighbouring Bristol.
Lowering levels of air passenger duty at underused regional airports, such as Cardiff, is the way to do this, says Western Gateway.
It estimates Cardiff Airport existing facilities could handle three million passengers a year.
The group's report says it expects the airport's connections to improve in time with the high speed rail projects bringing more of the UK within a two-hour travel time, including central London.
It said: "By concentrating on the long-haul market Cardiff Airport would have advantages compared to Bristol Airport, a longer runway and 24-hour operation.
'Crucial role'
"By concentrating on markets not served from Bristol Airport, Cardiff would have access to a 4.5m (people) catchment within a 90-minute travel time."
The proposals have been put to the Davies Commission, set up to look what future air capacity is needed in the UK.
At the conference on Monday First Minister Carwyn Jones is expected to say the airport "plays a crucial role" in Wales' economy.
The airport, which was bought from its previous Spanish owners for £52m in March, is already undergoing a £500,000 facelift to promote Welsh culture and heritage.
But the latest passenger figures released in April showed that it saw a 15% slump for the year to March - dipping to just below one million.