Cardiff International Airport is taking thousands of passengers displaced by the closure of the runway at Bristol International (now open again).
In 2006, the Welsh airport recorded a 13 per cent increase in passenger numbers compared to 2005 and the recent problems at Bristol have brought even more travellers through its doors.
Following concerns that the Bristol Airport runway was excessively slippery following resurfacing work, airlines including easyJet and British Airways re-routed many flights to Birmingham and Cardiff airports over the weekend.
A total of 25,000 people have been affected by the disruptions and, even though Bristol has re-opened, many passengers are still being diverted to Cardiff, which is currently handling three times its usual number of passengers.
Before the New Year, ten passenger aircraft were diverted to Cardiff from Bristol because of poor weather at the Avon city.
This marked the end of a record year for Cardiff International, which passed the two million passenger milestone in 2006.
The airport’s managing director, Jon Horne, said that the backing of the Welsh public had been instrumental in bolstering passenger numbers and had helped to make Cardiff one of the fastest growing airfields in the UK.
