Military Site To Be Taken Over By Airport

The site opened at RAF St Athan in 1938 and was renamed in 2006. (Image: PA).

A British military site is to be taken over after Cardiff airport agreed to manage the airfield.

It is part of a ten-year agreement with the Welsh Government who, with the Ministry of Defence, has current responsibility for MOD St Athan until the present arrangement finishes next March.

Economy and Transport Secretary Ken Skates said: "Under the current arrangements, we have an obligation to the MoD to operate, manage and maintain the airfield for military purposes.

"Our plan now is to transfer responsibility for airfield operations, including management and maintenance, security, radar services and air traffic control, to a single-source supplier."

Mr Skates went on to say the Welsh Government had agreed the partnership as they "do not have the internal expertise to operate and manage an airport".

MOD St Athan is a large Ministry of Defence site in south Wales and is where the RAF's non-aircraft, ground engineering technicians are trained.

It opened in 1938 and was known as RAF St Athan for 68 years.

During the Second World War, the base had an estimated 14,000 personnel.

It is now home to No 4 School of Technical Training who give training to tri-service personnel and MoD civilian staff.