From
the BBC» :
Newquay Cornwall Airport passenger numbers below predictions
Passenger numbers at an airport branded a "white elephant" by critics are less than a quarter of those originally predicted, it has emerged.
Newquay Cornwall Airport sees 220,000 passengers per year, compared to forecasts of more than one million.
Critics of the council-owned airport say it is not "economically viable" and will always need its multi-million pound subsidy from Cornwall Council.
The authority said it is committed to supporting the airport.
A 'masterplan' produced in 2009 forecast 1.01m passengers by 2015-16. But less than 220,000 passengers used the airport in 2014, according to Civil Aviation Authority figures, with about 40,000 recorded in the first three months of 2015.
Bob Egerton, an independent member of Cornwall Council, said forecasts of more than one million passengers per year were "wishful thinking". He said: "People got carried away with the glamour associated with having an airport. I do not believe it will ever be economically viable. I think we are stuck with it as a white elephant."
Mr Egerton said the forecasts were "a fantasy figure" and unsuccessful routes were "quietly dropped".
The council's company, Cornwall Airport Limited, receives an annual subsidy - ^2.3m for 2014-15.
Adam Paynter, Cornwall Council cabinet member for resources, defended the subsidy and said the airport brought ^48m annually to the Cornish economy. He said: "Soon after the publication of the previous masterplan the recession hit aviation very hard and the industry experienced its worst ever decline with a number of airlines going bankrupt or closing."
Mr Paynter said the airport, at the heart of the Newquay Enterprise Zone, is "redefining its business model, reducing costs and successfully growing other income streams".
The council is now producing a new masterplan which forecasts 473,000 yearly passengers by 2030.
