Cludiant awyr: 2025

Air transport is an important driver for economic development. It connects Wales to the global economy which facilitates inward investment and trade. It provides a gateway for business and leisure passengers, which is an enabler for tourism and helps support industry. 

This release presents air transport statistics for Wales covering the calendar year 2025. This release was temporarily paused after the May 2024 publication which covered data for 2023. 

Following a review of our statistical outputs and feedback from our recent public consultation, this publication has been shortened, and the accompanying StatsWales datasets stopped. All data remain accessible via the UK airport data on the UK Civil Aviation Authority website.

During 2025, there were 299 million passenger journeys through UK airports with Heathrow the busiest (84 million). Cardiff was the 19th busiest airport in the UK (out of 50 airports) with 958,000 terminal passengers, which was 0.32% of the UK total.

In 2025, around 958,000 terminal passengers used Cardiff International airport, an increase of 10% compared with 2024 but 42% less than the number of passengers in 2019 (prior to the Covid-19 pandemic). 

There were around 17,000 flights in and out of Cardiff International airport in 2025, a 9.7% increase on 2024, but a decrease of 50% compared to 2019.

During 2025, 58 international airports within 26 countries outside of the United Kingdom were served by Cardiff Airport International airport, slightly fewer than the previous year. 

Cardiff airport is the only major domestic and international airport in Wales. 

In 2025, 94% of passengers from Cardiff Airport flew to international destinations whilst 6% flew to domestic destinations. Compared to the previous year, international passenger numbers increased by 9% and domestic passenger numbers increased by 5%.

Historically, the volume of freight moving through Cardiff airport has been volatile. The volume of freight in 2024 and 2025 were the highest recorded over the last ten years with 1,829 tonnes and 1,893 tonnes respectively. In the four years prior to 2024 it ranged from 4 tonnes to 368 tonnes of freight moved through the airport. 

Context 

Related publications

The Department for Transport produce UK Aviation Statistics which provides data and statistics about UK airports, air passenger experiences and international airports and airlines. 

Transport Scotland produce a compendium publication titled "Scottish Transport Statistics" (Transport Scotland) which includes a chapter on Air Transport.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also publish Daily UK flight numbers (ONS) and rolling seven-day average, including flights to, from, and within the UK. 

Definitions

The passenger data presented in this report are the total number of passenger journeys (outbound and inbound flights combined), not the number of different individual passengers. This is because it is not possible to identify arrivals and departures from the source data. In this report we use the term terminal passengers, or passengers, to mean the total number of passenger journeys. On many routes the number of individual passengers is likely to be very close to half the total number of passenger journeys, because most are return journeys.

Further information on definitions is available at UK airport data on the UK Civil Aviation Authority in the UK Aviation Statistics.

Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) departing passenger survey - topics covered in survey questions

The CAA departing passenger survey asks questions relating to the person, the airport and the airline and the journey. The latest survey to include all of the major airports used by travellers to and from Wales was conducted in 2019 and results can be found on page 9 of our Air Transport 2019 statistical bulletin. More detailed information relating to the 2019 passenger survey report can be found on the CAA website. 

Quality information

Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

All of our statistics are produced and published in accordance with a number of statements and protocols to enhance trustworthiness, quality and value. These are set out in the Welsh Government’s Statement of Compliance.

The information on air transport through Cardiff airport in this headline are obtained via the CAA and includes the CAA’s own notes around the figures.

These statistics are pre-announced on the Statistics and Research area of the Welsh Government website. Access to the data during processing is restricted to those involved in the production of the statistics, quality assurance and for operational purposes. Pre-release access is restricted to eligible recipients in line with the Code of Practice (UK Statistics Authority).

The published figures provided are compiled by professional analysts using the latest available data and applying methods using their professional judgement and analytical skillset. Statistics published by Welsh Government adhere to the Statistical Quality Management Strategy which supplements the Quality pillar of the Code of Practice for Statistics (UK Statistics Authority) and the European Statistical System principles of quality for statistical outputs. 

The statistical release is drafted, signed off by senior statisticians and published in line with the statement on confidentiality and data access which is informed by the trustworthiness pillar contained in the Code of Practice for Statistics (UK Statistics Authority).

The purpose of this statistical release is to provide evidence for policy development; to signpost to the original source data; and to inform the media and wider public about public service vehicles.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. 

Well-being of Future Generations Act (WFG)

The Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015 is about improving the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of Wales. The Act puts in place seven wellbeing goals for Wales. These are for a more equal, prosperous, resilient, healthier and globally responsible Wales, with cohesive communities and a vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language. Under section (10)(1) of the Act, the Welsh Ministers must (a) publish indicators (“national indicators”) that must be applied for the purpose of measuring progress towards the achievement of the wellbeing goals, and (b) lay a copy of the national indicators before Senedd Cymru. Under section 10(8) of the Well-being of Future Generations Act, where the Welsh Ministers revise the national indicators, they must as soon as reasonably practicable (a) publish the indicators as revised and (b) lay a copy of them before the Senedd. These national indicators were laid before the Senedd in 2021. The indicators laid on 14 December 2021 replace the set laid on 16 March 2016.

Information on the indicators, along with narratives for each of the well-being goals and associated technical information is available in the Well-being of Wales report.

Further information on the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

The statistics included in this release could also provide supporting narrative to the national indicators and be used by public services boards in relation to their local well-being assessments and local well-being plans.

Next update

June 2027 (provisional)

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