Cardiff Airport sees biggest growth in passenger numbers in the UK

Martin Shipton

Cardiff Airport showed the biggest percentage growth in passenger numbers of all airports in the UK during the second quarter of 2026, with the Welsh capital showing a 16% rise.

Newcastle and Inverness Airports were joint runners-up, each seeing passenger numbers increase by 8%.

A spokesperson for the Welsh Government, which owns the Airport, said: “It is very pleasing to see passenger numbers at Cardiff Airport increasing at this rate.

“These figures are an encouraging sign of growing confidence in the business, reflecting the hard work being undertaken by the team at the Airport and showing the benefits of the Welsh Government’s commitment to invest in the Airport’s future.

“Continued growth at our national Airport is an important part of our long-term economic vision for Wales, improving our international connectivity and attracting more inbound tourism, inward investment and jobs.”

News of Cardiff Airport’s success comes shortly after Vueling’s disappointing decision to cancel its winter flights from the Airport. The Spanish operator owned by the multi-national International Airlines Group (IAG), had planned to operate a three times weekly service to Alicante alongside a short season of flights to Malaga over the Christmas and New Year period.

However, the airline recently suspended the sale of flights across both routes beyond the end of the summer season ending in late October.

The latest UK aviation data shows passenger records were broken in the second quarter of this year, despite disruption caused by conflict in the Middle East.

Growth was largely driven by low-cost airlines, with Ryanair and Jet2 both seeing a 9% year-on-year growth in passenger numbers between April and June this year.

Passengers are increasingly taking short-haul European flights, with more than one million additional passengers travelling to Western Europe.

New UK Civil Aviation Authority data shows more than 81 million passengers travelled through UK airports between April and June 2026, breaking last year’s record for travel in the same period.

This continued the trend seen in the first three months of 2026 of holidaymakers flying in search of European sun. The number of passengers travelling to Madrid and Barcelona increased by 15% and 11% respectively.

Asia also saw significant growth in passenger numbers, especially China (+11%), Pakistan (+307%) and India (+5%).

Ross Lydall, spokesperson for the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: “Demand for flying remains high, as passengers adjust their travel plans around global events. These results highlight the sector’s resilience and hard work and keep it on course for another record-breaking year.”

Resilience

Keir Mather, Aviation, Maritime and Freight Minister, said: “Our aviation industry continues to show its strength and resilience, with record numbers of holidaymakers taking off this Spring, helping to support jobs, businesses and growth across the UK.

“We acted quickly to support airlines and airports against the backdrop of conflict in the Middle East, including giving airlines greater flexibility to lock in flight schedules early, helping to keep last-minute disruption to a minimum, with fewer than 1% of flights cancelled at short notice between May and July.

“This shows that our action, alongside the resilience and hard work of airlines and airports, is paying off and we will keep working with industry to keep people and businesses moving.”

A total of 81,158,297 passengers boarded or disembarked at UK airports between April and June, up more than 120,000 on the 81,035,648 recorded in the same three-month period in 2025.

The quarter also saw a growth in the number of passengers travelling with low-cost airlines, with 2.25 million more passengers flying with easyJet, Ryanair and Jet2 compared to the second quarter of last year.

Karen Dee, Chief Executive of AirportsUK, the trade association for UK airports, said: “It is good to see that air travel has continued to grow, despite ongoing challenges in places like the Middle East.

“As an island nation, our air links play a pivotal role in business, trade, investment and tourism so it is extremely important that we support and grow our connectivity.

“This will contribute towards the economic growth which is key to the UK’s future prosperity.”

‘Growth engine’

A spokesperson from Airlines UK, the trade body for UK registered airlines, said: “This data confirms aviation’s importance to the British public, its vital role as a growth engine for the UK economy, and its resilience in the face of geopolitical turbulence.

“Satisfaction with air travel has never been higher, with UK airlines continuing to work hard to meet growing demand whilst providing choice, service and competitive fares and reducing our environmental impact.”

The most popular destinations in Q2 2026 were Dublin, Palma de Mallorca, Amsterdam, Alicante and Malaga.

This period coincided with a continuation of the conflict in the Middle East, impacting passengers in some regions and leading to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to advise against non-essential travel to the region until June 18. Passenger numbers travelling to Dubai halved compared to last year, and Middle Eastern airlines also saw significant reductions.

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