Cardiff Airport welcomes 6,500 fans for major bank holiday rugby weekend

An additional 6,500 passengers travelled through Cardiff Airport on bank holiday weekend for a major European rugby tournament at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff.

Held in the Welsh capital, the EPCR Challenge Cup Final took place on Friday 23 May, followed by the Investec Champions Cup Final on Saturday 24 May.

The airport’s teams welcomed an extra 63 flights, in addition to the normal flight schedule.

Cardiff Airport say they are “immensely proud” to serve the people of Wales and welcome international visitors to our nation, and have said that the airport is instrumental in helping secure major events in Wales, like Euro 2028.

Ceri Mashlan, Operations Director at Cardiff Airport, said: “I want to recognise our extremely hard working teams who successfully managed this major event. We saw a significant increase in the number of passengers, from France and Ireland, travel through Cardiff.

“There is always a great atmosphere when we have sporting fans at the Airport and we look forward to facilitating many more big events soon.”

Expansion

Earlier this year, TUI announced a further major expansion at Cardiff Airport with the addition of new routes, as well as boosted frequency to some of its most popular holiday destinations.

The additional capacity gives holidaymakers even more choice and flexibility for a summer getaway from their local airport.

From summer 2026, a fourth aircraft will be based at Cardiff Airport, increasing the choice of holiday destinations for customers.

Hurghada – on 2 May 2026, TUI launched a brand-new route from Cardiff to Hurghada meaning holidaymakers will be able to soak up Egyptian sunshine from May.

Faro – on 21 May 2026, a brand-new route from Cardiff to Faro launched, taking travellers directly to the golden sands and beautiful coastlines in Portugal.

Fuerteventura – this route is new for summer 2026 but will continue from the winter season which launches on 20 December 2025. Customers will now have greater flexibility to choose when they want to enjoy the year-long sunshine to one of the Canary Islands’ most stunning spots, right from Cardiff.

Increased flying routes

Due to increased demand for summer hot-spot destinations, TUI is increasing its flying frequency to the likes of Antalya, Gran Canaria, Palma de Mallorca, Enfidha and Tenerife.

• The Antalya route will see an extra flight each week, increasing it from three to four flights per week
• TUI will double its weekly flying frequency to Gran Canaria from once to twice weekly
• The Cardiff to Palma De Mallorca route will be increased from five flights per week, to six
• Enfidha will see an additional weekly flight, taking it from two to three flights per week
• And customers will be able to choose from an additional flight to Tenerife each week, with four weekly flights

“More choice”

TUI UK&I Commercial Director Chris logan said: “We’re really excited to be expanding our routes and flying frequency from Cardiff Airport to give our customers even more choice and flexibility.

“With exclusive new routes and additional flights to some of the most popular holiday destinations, we’re making it even easier for travellers to visit new places from their local airport.

“We’ve seen the demand for destinations such as Turkey, Tenerife and Mallorca grow year on year, so this increase in capacity allows customers to explore more options when booking their holiday.

Lee Smith, Head of Business Development at Cardiff Airport, added: “This is fantastic news and a major investment in Cardiff Airport and Wales from TUI.

“The recent announcement of a second based aircraft this winter, followed by today’s news of a fourth based aircraft in summer 2026, shows the confidence TUI has in the market.

“TUI’s latest expansion means there will be an additional 48,000 holidays available with TUI from Cardiff next summer, including new routes to Faro and Hurghada.

“We look forward to working with the TUI team to continue growing in Wales.”