Will the Minister provide a) the number of loans provided to Cardiff Airport since 2013; b) the breakdown of each loan, including purpose and financial amount; and c) breakdown of future allocated loans?
Five loans have been provided to Cardiff Airport by the Welsh Government since 2013 as listed below including their purpose and financial amount:
2014 - £10m commercial loan facility for capital expenditure
2015 - Consolidation of existing loan (£10m) plus new £13m commercial loan facility totalling £23m for route development and capital expenditure for business growth.
2017 - Consolidation of existing loan (£23m) plus new £15.2m commercial loan facility totalling £38.2m for general business purposes, operational costs, capital expenditure route development and for business growth.
2019 - Consolidation of existing loan (£38.2m) plus new £21.2m commercial loan facility totalling £59.4m. Of which £54.6m was drawn down. The purpose of the loan was for general business activities, operational costs, capital expenditure route development and for business growth.
2020 - COVID-19 emergency Loan: £4.8m to support the airports reduced operations and to maintain solvency. Of which £4.8m was drawn down.
Total loans drawn down £59.4m as at 24 March 2021.
Total accrued interest on the above loans was £10.4m as at 6 May 2021.
There are no future allocated or existing loans for Cardiff Airport to draw down funds from.
In March 2021, the Welsh Government wrote off £42.6m of the Airport’s £69.8m total debt (including accrued interest). The remaining outstanding debt following the write off was £27.2m as at 6 May 2021.
Development Bank of Wales continue to monitor the business against the remaining loan to be repaid.
The £42.6m rescue and recovery package the Welsh Government put in place is designed to enable Cardiff Airport to become self-sustainable and profitable in the future. We are working with the Airport to understand in detail the impact of the recent withdrawal of Wizz Air on the timescale for self-sustainability, we recognise that the pathway to profitability could be longer than anticipated originally. Our Covid recovery plan for the Airport remains in place and although demand is recovering, the current economic climate, tight labour market and regulatory requirements continue to present significant challenges to the aviation sector.
A paper setting out the financial support provided to Cardiff Airport is available at Evidence paper from Welsh Government regarding Cardiff Airport - Evidence paper from Welsh Government regarding Cardiff Airport - PAPAC6-04-21 P1.pdf (senedd.wales)