Bristol Airport has been granted permission to take its legal challenge against the Welsh Government's £205.2 million subsidy for Cardiff Airport to the Court of Appeal, reviving a dispute that had appeared settled after Bristol lost at tribunal earlier this year.
The Welsh Government awarded the grant to Cardiff International Airport, which it has owned since 2013, in April 2025. The money was earmarked for incentives to attract airlines to open new routes, a new hangar village, and improved passenger facilities at the Welsh airport, which serves more than a million passengers a year.
Bristol Airport, which sits around 27 miles from Cardiff and is owned by Macquarie Asset Management, argued the subsidy breached the UK's post-Brexit Subsidy Control Act 2022. Its case, brought in the Competition Appeal Tribunal in July 2025, claimed the Welsh Government had failed to properly establish that Cardiff was an "ailing or insolvent enterprise" before approving the support, and that the package amounted to unprecedented state backing for a UK airport that put Bristol at a commercial disadvantage.
Following a two-day hearing in February, the tribunal ruled against Bristol on every ground in a judgment handed down in June, and then rejected Bristol's request for permission to appeal. Bristol took that request directly to the Court of Appeal instead.
According to Wales Online and the law firm Ward Hadaway, which covered the development on 29 October, the Court of Appeal has now granted Bristol permission to appeal on all six grounds raised by its legal team. The order was made by Lord Justice Green, and the case is expected to be listed for hearing in Cardiff next year.
Responding to the ruling, the Welsh Government said it noted the Court of Appeal's decision to allow permission but that it remains confident in the lawfulness of the original subsidy decision. Cardiff Airport's accounts continue to be signed off by independent auditors on a going concern basis despite ongoing losses.
If Bristol ultimately succeeds, the Welsh Government could in turn seek to appeal to the Supreme Court, meaning the dispute over how the two regional airports are funded and allowed to compete could run on for some time yet.
There is no immediate impact on flights, routes or operations at either airport, and the case does not affect travellers using Bristol Airport this week. It is, however, a reminder of the wider competitive pressure facing regional airports in the South West and South Wales as they vie for airline routes and passenger growth.
What this means for your journey: nothing changes for passengers travelling through Bristol Airport right now. If you are heading to the airport, check our guide to parking at /parking/ or getting there by public transport at /public-transport/ for the latest options.