Swansea Airport in South Wales has had its status as a licensed aerodrome suspended by the UK Civil Aviation Authority after “a series of safety concerns” were found.
The safety problems came to light following an unannounced safety audit by the regulator but it did not expand on exactly what the concerns were.
Richard Stephenson, Director of the Civil Aviation Authority, said: “Following a recent unannounced safety audit at Swansea Aerodrome we discovered a series of safety concerns which has led us to suspend its Operating Licence.
“Swansea Aerodrome is therefore currently closed to all flights which require the use of a licensed aerodrome. The suspensions will remain in place until our safety concerns are addressed.”
Swansea Airport has not seen commercial flights since 2004 but is sometimes used for training such as practice approaches and navigational training.
But the airfield, currently owned by Roy Thomas’ Swansea Airport Ltd, has been in decline for several years.
Local pilots have reported problems such as broken navigation lights, unusable hangars and general dis-repair across the site on the Gower Peninsula.
The suspension of the licence means the airfield can only be used for private flying on an unlicensed basis until sufficient work is done to make the airfield safe to use.
