Cardiff Airport expansion includes proposed hotel project

Cardiff Airport, the busiest air terminal in Wales, will undergo a massive expansion of its existing building over the next 20 years, which includes the development a new hotel.

The renovations also include a new terminal, a transport hub and a multi-story parking lot. The airport will be seeking a partner for the hotel over the next few months. 

Meanwhile, the new terminal will have two floors with a total gross internal floor area of about 430,556 square feet. It will be linked to the new hotel and parking lot. The airport has planned the expansion to accommodate a larger number of passengers per year, which currently stands at 1.5 million. With the new master plan, Cardiff Airport aims to accommodate two million passengers by 2021, 2.5 million passengers by 2027, three million passengers by 2036 and 3.2 million by 2040. 

The construction will occur in phases to continue airport operations while the new terminal is added. The existing terminal will be demolished once construction on the new one is complete. 

The new expansion plans follow the £4-million revamp of the departure lounge. The renovations included additional seating, two new Costa Coffee shops, an expanded WH Smith store, the addition of the 51° Lounge and a redesigned executive lounge with a bar.

Cardiff Airport also signed a 10-year joint venture deal with the Welsh Government to operate, manage and maintain the St Athan airfield and business park once the existing contract with the Ministry of Defense and Serco ends on March 31, 2019. The Welsh Government owns the Cardiff Airport. However, commercial company Cardiff International Airport operates the airport.

“These improvements are ambitious yet achievable and will enable the airport to continue its development of further aviation links to the rest of the UK, Europe and beyond, which will improve its competitiveness and attractiveness as a gateway to international travel and trade. We look forward to working with the team at Cardiff Airport to deliver these exciting developments,” First Minister Carwyn Jones told Wales Online.