Airport operator to give up lease after 23 years

Swansea council says a change of leaseholder was imminent due to a "range of issues"

The operator of Swansea Airport has agreed to give up its lease after 23 years.

Owner Swansea council launched a legal bid in 2023 to take back control of the airport and end the lease with the current tenant, Swansea Airport Ltd.

Now a not-for-profit group of airport users, called Swansea Airport Stakeholders’ Alliance, will temporarily take over control of the 450-acre site in Fairwood, Gower, while the council searches for a long-term operator.

Swansea council said a change of tenant was imminent due to a "range of issues" with Swansea Airport Ltd, which took control of the airport in 2001.

David Hopkins, joint deputy leader of Swansea council, said it was looking for a long-term solution.

He said people, including the alliance, will have the chance to bid in that process, with opportunities for "future investment" at the airport.

Swansea Airport Stakeholders’ Alliance, which was set up in 2021, said it intended to operate the airport in agreement with the council and support the current businesses and users until a new long-term operator has been installed.

It said it "welcomes the opportunity" to bid for a longer-term partnership with the council and other stakeholders to provide a "sustainable and welcoming facility" that "delivers social, economic and environmental benefits, sits sympathetically within the landscape and the community and which everyone can be proud of."

It said it would talk to various groups in the short-term and develop proposals to continue to operate the airport in the future.

Roy Thomas, the director of Swansea Airport Ltd, the current leaseholder, said he planned to put together a team of experts and bid for the long-term licence when the opportunity arose.

He also called for an inquiry into the process which led to the decision to change the airport's operator, saying it has been a "sequel of unbelievable circumstances".

Mr Thomas said the airport had 16 full and part-time staff and wondered what would happen to them.

Swansea Airport Stakeholders’ Alliance said it was too early to say about the people working there and that it would only know what it had inherited once it takes over - but stressed that the airport will be open for business.

The arrival of a new operator marks the end of a turbulent period for the airport, after it had its operating licence suspended in 2019 due to safety concerns discovered by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).