Cardiff Airport
Cardiff Airport is an international airport serving Cardiff and the rest of South, Mid and West Wales. Around 1.2 million passengers passed through the airport in 2011, a 13% reduction on 2010. It is located in the village of Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan, 12 mi (19 km) west of Cardiff's city centre.CompanyCardiff Airport was owned by a private company Cardiff International Airport Limited which, in turn was wholly owned by TBI Ltd a former public company (since converted back to a private company) which is 90% owned by the Spanish conglomerate Abertis and 10% by Aena International - the world's largest airport operator.The 2010 accounts quoted the net worth of Cardiff Airport Ltd to be £34,311,000 (calculated as Shareholders Funds minus Intangible Assets). Accounts filed with Companies House show Cardiff International Airport Limited suffered a £319,000 loss in 2011, compared with a profit of just over £1 million in 2010. The directors of Cardiff International Airport Ltd were David Hugh Pickard, Carlos Francisco Del Rio Carcano, Stephen Hodgetts, Angel Pablo Lerma Gaude and Ms Debra Barber.On 27 March 2013 the Welsh Government announced it had purchased the Cardiff International Airport Ltd from TBI Ltd as a going concern for £52,000,000. Although claims were made that this was a "nationalisation" (a private enterprise being acquired by the state) technically it was not, because TBI was a "willing seller" and was not being compelled to relinquish this asset. The Welsh Government's First Minister, Carwyn Jones,announced "The airport will not be operated by the Welsh government. It will be managed at arm's length from government on a commercial basis and, over time, I expect to see a return to the public purse on the investment." The Chief Executive of Cardiff's main rival,Bristol Airport, Robert Sinclair said the purchase price of £52m paid by the Welsh Government was "well above market value when compared to recent transactions involving UK airports - gives us concern that ongoing government involvement and support is highly likely,"