Wales’ national airport welcomed 30,000 customers this Christmas, 10% more than the same two-week festive period last year. This exciting news rounds up what has been a very busy year for Wales’ national airport and a number of exciting announcements, including a new daily direct service to Doha, Qatar with Qatar Airways starting on 1st May 2018.

Other airline news in 2017 includes a new Flybe route to Venice starting on March 2018; Super Break charters to North Iceland, Seville, Madeira, Malta and Montenegro plus the return of flights to Hurghada, Egypt with TUI starting next winter.

As people travelled home or chose to jet off in search of sunnier climes this Christmas, Cardiff Airport remained open as usual with 400 flights carried out. New routes operating this year included Flybe’s service to Rome and cruise flights with TUI to Montego Bay in Jamaica. Extra flights operated to Berlin, Cork, Dublin, Belfast City and Jersey, while KLM added 25% more seats to its daily flights to Amsterdam.

It was good news for keen snow bunnies too, with flights to Geneva, Chambéry, Munich and Milan Malpensa, offering skiers and snowboarders access to the slopes.

Customers flew to and from these top fifteen most popular destinations this Christmas:

Amsterdam with KLM

Dublin with Flybe

Edinburgh with Flybe

Alicante with TUI and Vueling

Belfast with Flybe

Tenerife with TUI and Ryanair

Paris with Flybe

Malaga with TUI and Vueling

Glasgow with Flybe

Lanzarote with TUI

Gran Canaria with TUI

Berlin with Flybe

Munich with Flybe

Cork with Flybe

Milan with Flybe

Before Christmas, Deb Barber, CEO of Cardiff Airport, said:

“2017 has been a very busy year with lots of exciting announcements and developments in the terminal underway in preparation for an even busier 2018! “The New Year will get off to a flying start with a Super Break trip to North Iceland in January, a Hurtigruten trip to Norway in March, and an exclusive Omega Holidays night flight in search of the Northern Lights on 16th March. “Staff are really getting into the festive spirit this year too. We’ve donated many presents to local organisations, worn our Christmas jumpers to raise money for charity and welcomed many excited families on their way to Lapland. “And even though it’s mild at the moment, in the event that temperatures drop we have plans in place to ensure we’re prepared and are able to keep disruptions to a minimum should cold weather cause problems.” Continued Debra. “Passengers travelling to the Airport during the Christmas holidays are advised to allow plenty of time for their journey, and particular attention should be given to public transport services as there may be some restrictions to regular timetables over the period.

Those travelling with Christmas crackers should check with their airline before arriving at the Airport and customers are reminded not to travel with wrapped presents in hand luggage as they may need to be opened during the security process.”