Bristol Airport

Bristol Airport is an international airport serving the city of Bristol, England, and the surrounding area. Located at Lulsgate Bottom, on the northern slopes of the Mendip Hills, in North Somerset, it is southwest of Bristol city centre. replacing Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport as Bristol's municipal airport. From 1997 to 2010, it was known as Bristol International Airport.

In 2019, it was ranked the eighth busiest airport in the United Kingdom, handling over 8.9 million passengers, a 3% increase compared with 2018. In 2025, while maintaining its eighth position, it served 10.83 million passengers, accounting for 3.6% of all UK airport passengers.

A passenger survey carried out in 2015 found that 32.5% of journeys using the airport started or ended in the city of Bristol, 9.6% in Gloucestershire, 24.5% in Somerset, 16.9% in Devon and 8.2% in Wiltshire.

Airlines with operating bases at the airport include easyJet and Ryanair. The airport has a Civil Aviation Authority Public Use Aerodrome Licence (number P432) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers and for flying instruction.

History

thumb|[[Cambrian Airways Vickers Viscount loads at the airport in 1963]]

thumb|[[Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair|Aviation Traders Carvair and the tail of an Airspeed Ambassador in 1965]]

First airport

In 1927, a group of local businessmen raised £6,000 through public subscription to start the Bristol and Wessex Aeroplane Club, a flying club initially based at Filton Aerodrome. In 1929, Bristol Corporation took up the club's proposal to develop farmland located at Whitchurch, to the south of Bristol, into a municipal airport. On its opening by Prince George, Duke of Kent in 1930, Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport was the third civil airport in the United Kingdom. Passenger numbers grew to 4,000 by 1939. BOAC operated routes around the British Empire and to neutral nations. The Bristol–Lisbon route (Portugal was a neutral nation and had both British and German planes flying there) was operated by the Dutch airline KLM, under charter to BOAC.

RAF Lulsgate Bottom

In September 1940, No. 10 Elementary Flying Training School RAF at RAF Weston-super-Mare established a Relief Landing Ground on at Broadfield Down by the hamlet of Lulsgate Bottom, southwest of the city and north of Redhill village. Being high, at , the site had a poor weather record during warm front conditions, when it was often covered in low cloud. In late 1940, a Starfish site was set up south of the village of Downside and just west of the airfield. Its decoy fires attracted a large quantity of Luftwaffe high explosives and incendiaries on the nights of 16 March 3 and 4 April 1941 during the Bristol Blitz.

In 1941, RAF Fighter Command planned to use the airfield for an experimental unit, and after requisitioning land from several adjacent farms, contracted George Wimpey and Company to begin work on 11 June 1941. The airfield used a standard-issue three-runway layout resembling an A shape. The main, east–west runway was long, with a designated alignment of 28/10, and the others were aligned 21/03 and aligned 34/16. From 1 June 1942, the airfield was under No. 23 Group of RAF Flying Training Command, and initially became a satellite airfield for No. 3 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit (3 (P)AFU), based at RAF South Cerney, flying Oxfords. In March 1943, No. 1540 Beam Approach Training Flight RAF (1540 BATF) was formed at Lulsgate, again flying Oxfords. On 27 September 1943, 3 (P)AFU left Lulsgate for RAF Southrop, and was replaced on 1 October 1943 by No. 3 Flying Instructors School (3 FIS), which was previously headquartered at RAF Hullavington. 3 FIS flew mostly Oxfords and some Masters.

In 1944, BOAC started to use the airfield for Douglas Dakota and Consolidated Liberator crew training, and for topping-up fuel on the Bristol–Lisbon route. With the war over, the RAF ceased training at Lulsgate on 15 April 1946, and the next month 7 FIS left the airfield and joined the Central Flying School at RAF Little Rissington. The RAF finally abandoned Lulsgate on 25 October 1946.

Lulsgate Bottom Airfield

From 1948, the site was the home of the Bristol Gliding Club. In 1949 and 1950, the Bristol Motor Cycle and Light Car Club hosted motor races on a circuit known as Lulsgate Aerodrome, but due to planning and noise issues moved in 1950 to a site that became known as Castle Combe Circuit. In June 1955, the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation agreed to sell the Lulsgate airfield to Bristol Corporation, for the development of a new airport there. Bristol Gliding Club moved out to Nympsfield in Gloucestershire. In mid-April 1957, all air traffic was transferred from Whitchurch to the new airport. With the name of Bristol (Lulsgate) Airport, In the airport's first year it was used by 33,000 people. and in 1969 the runway was lengthened and extensions were made to the terminal. In 1968 a new cargo transit shed was constructed. Les Wilson took over as managing director in that year, a position which he held until his death in a car crash in November 1995; much of the airport's subsequent strong recovery over that period has been attributed to him. The airport moved back into profit in financial year 1981/82, and by 1983/84 the profit was £0.5million. In 1984, an international departure lounge was added, with duty-free shops and a 24-hour air-side bar. On 1 April 1987, Bristol City Council transferred the operation and net assets of the airport to Bristol Airport plc. The council retained full ownership of the company.

Bristol International Airport

thumb|Aerial view

thumb|[[Air traffic control tower]]

thumb|Runway view

upright=1.5|thumb|Terminal interior

In mid-1997, the airport's name was changed to Bristol International Airport. In November 1997, the successful bidder for the purchase of a 51% stake in the airport company was revealed to be FirstBus. The remaining 49% was retained by the council. Work on the new terminal building had already started; In 2000, passenger numbers exceeded two million for the first time. Ferrovial sold its 50% share to Macquarie in 2006. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan made two substantial share purchases, in 2002 and 2009.

In May 2001, the low-cost carrier Go Fly made Bristol Airport its second base after Stansted. Passenger numbers passed through three million in 2002, In May 2005, Continental Airlines introduced a direct flight from Bristol to Newark with Boeing 757 aircraft,

A new asphalt runway surface was laid between November 2006 and March 2007, at a cost of £17 million. Within this period, on 29 December and 3 January, there were four incidents of reduced braking action in wet conditions on the temporary surface, including two in which aircraft left the runway. From 5 January, ten airlines, led by easyJet, cancelled or diverted their Bristol flights. The airport closed the runway on 7 January to cut grooves into the surface to improve water runoff, and flights resumed the next day. In 2008, passenger numbers reached six million. The airport gained a new logo, said by the airport's owners to represent 'people', 'place' and 'region'; and a new slogan, "Amazing journeys start here".

Bristol Airport does not operate any jetways, so aircraft have to park on the apron and passengers either walk out to their flights or are carried by bus. May 2010 saw the opening of a walkway to the west of the terminal building, connecting it to eight new pre-boarding zones, at a cost of £8 million, to reduce the need for buses. In 2013, the airline added routes to German and Italian hub airports, aimed at business travellers.

In September 2014, Toronto-based Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan agreed to buy Macquarie's remaining 50% stake in the airport, thereby gaining 100% ownership. In July 2020, over 76 employee redundancies, up to a quarter of the work force, were announced by Bristol Airport. The job losses were announced despite the government's Job Retention Scheme.

On 11 November 2020, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays announced that they would open their tenth UK base at Bristol Airport on 1 April 2021, operating to 33 destinations; however, as a result of the ongoing coronavirus travel restrictions, the base opening and flights were delayed until 1 July 2021.

Expansion

Initial development plans

In response to the UK government's 2003 white paper The Future of Air Transport, the airport published a Master Plan for expansion over the period 2006–2030.

In October 2007, the airport announced that it would delay the planning application until the middle of 2008 to give it time to complete research on the airport's effect on the environment. The World Development Movement claimed that flights from the airport generated the same amount of carbon dioxide as the nation of Malawi.

A campaign against the plan was led by Stop Bristol Airport Expansion, supported by Bristol Friends of the Earth and the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

Approval and staging

The application was eventually submitted in 2009. The £150m plan, designed to facilitate growth in annual passenger numbers to 10 million,

The expansion was to occur in stages, spread over 30 construction projects. Plans included a doubling of passenger terminal floorspace, new piers and aircraft parking stands, extensions to the apron, multi-storey car parking and a public transport interchange.

Construction

The first project was completed in June 2012, with the opening of three new aircraft stands.

In July 2014, a , £6.5m walkway connected to the centre of the terminal was opened, providing four more pre-boarding zones including ones for wide-body aircraft such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

In July 2015, the airport opened an £8.6m eastward extension of the terminal, with a larger departure lounge and an outdoor terrace. Construction of another terminal extension started immediately, to the west and costing £24m. The first phases of the western extension, which opened in summer 2016, provided a new security search area for departures, with 12 security lanes including a fast track zone. New arrivals facilities within the extension, including baggage reclaim and customs, were scheduled to open later in 2016. In October 2016, the airport announced that a further project, an enlargement of the immigration hall, will complete in 2017. These were completed and opened to the public in April 2017, enabling an increase in the number of passport control points from 10 to 17, of which 10 are ePassport gates.

Work on a £9.5m multi-storey car park began in November 2017, following a £2.5m upgrade to the customer reception centre in the silver zone car park. The new car park opened in May 2018.

Hotel

A planning application for an on-site 251-room hotel was approved separately in 2010. In February 2014, a planning application was submitted for a revision to the previously approved design, with a 201-room hotel to be built initially, followed later by a 50-room addition. The airport stated that among the UK's busiest 16 airports, only Bristol lacked an on-site hotel. In February 2015, the airport announced that the 201-room hotel would be completed in 2016, and will be operated as a Hampton by Hilton. It opened for bookings in January 2017. It was funded, built and is owned, by a Chinese company, CIMC Modular Building Systems, who shipped prefabricated modules for its construction from China.

Appeal

The airport appealed, and a four-week public inquiry started in July 2021. The Planning Inspectorate granted the appeal in February 2022. Bristol Airport Action Network applied for a statutory appeal, which was held in the High Court in Bristol in November 2022.

In January 2023 the appeal in the High Court was dismissed. Sarah Warren, a cabinet member of Bath and North East Somerset Council, said it was a "deeply disappointing result". In May 2023, the Court of Appeal dismissed an application to hear an appeal against the airport's expansion plan from the Bristol Airport Action Network. This was the final possible legal challenge.

Transport hub

In September 2023 Bristol Airport announced the commencement of its new expansion plans, starting with the construction of a £60m transport hub and car park. This project includes the creation of one of the region's largest bus interchanges on the top level of the new car park, with an expansion that will more than double the number of coach bays, increasing them from 6 to 16. Additionally, the new multi-storey car park will provide over 2,000 parking spaces. The project was expected to take 18 months and aims to significantly enhance transportation options and services for passengers arriving at or departing from the airport.

In July 2025, the new public transport interchange officially opened, significantly boosting bus and coach capacity and service frequency.

2024 expansion proposal

In November 2024, the airport opened a consultation on another capacity increase, to 15 million passengers per year, including launching direct long-haul flights to destinations such as the Middle East and the east coast of America. The proposal involves extending the Bristol Airport terminal from approximately to , beyond the existing permission to expand to .

The plans include a runway extension within existing boundaries to support limited long-haul routes, alongside new taxiways to reduce congestion. To address traffic impacts, plans involve upgrading the A38 and nearby junctions, introducing bus priority lanes, and collaborating on future mass transit connections.

The airport continued its terminal investment under existing permissions in December 2025, announcing a transformation of its departure lounge, which will feature a larger central bar, a new food and beverage area, and significantly more seating for passengers.

Views for and against expansion

The Bristol Airport Action Network criticised expansion proposals, calling them disappointing and stating that they fail to "consider the needs of local people" or address "its climate impact." They also described the airport's projected economic and job benefits as "misleading," citing their research, which indicates that the airport often "massively overstates the number of new jobs and economic gains it will generate." He argued that the expansion would "create local jobs, open new routes to the rest of the world, and attract greater inward investment to our region." Smith also emphasized the convenience and environmental benefits for local travellers, stating, "Too many local people have to endure long drives to Heathrow or Birmingham just to access the flights they need. This is inconvenient, inefficient, and not good for the environment. Expanding Bristol Airport will provide passengers with convenience, choice, and high-quality services, right here in the West of England." Dublin

| Aurigny | Guernsey

| easyJet | Agadir, Alicante, Almería, Amsterdam, Antalya, Athens, Barcelona, Basel/Mulhouse, Belfast–City, Belfast–International, Berlin, Bilbao, Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Enfidha, Faro, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Geneva, Gibraltar, Glasgow, Gran Canaria, Hurghada, Inverness, Isle of Man, Kraków, Lanzarote, Larnaca, Lisbon, Madrid, Málaga, Milan–Malpensa, Munich, Murcia, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nice, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Pisa, Rome–Fiumicino, Sal, Sharm El Sheikh, Toulouse, Venice, Zurich Bodrum, Catania, Chania, Corfu, Dalaman, Grenoble, Heraklion, Ibiza, Kos, Lyon, Malta, Menorca, Naples, Palermo, Preveza/Lefkada, Reus (begins 25 June 2026), Reykjavík–Keflavík, Rhodes, Rovaniemi, Salzburg, Santorini, Split, Thessaloniki (begins 27 June 2026), Tivat, Tromsø, Turin, Zante

| Edelweiss Air | Seasonal: Zurich

| Jet2.com | Agadir, Alicante, Antalya, Faro, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Malta, Seasonal: Almería, Berlin (begins November 26, 2026), Bodrum, Chania, Cologne/Bonn (begins November 27, 2026), Corfu, Girona, Heraklion, Izmir, Kalamata, Kefalonia, Preveza/Lefkada, Rhodes, Verona,

| KLM | Amsterdam

| Loganair | Aberdeen, Jersey

| | Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen

| Ryanair | Alicante, Barcelona, Bucharest–Otopeni, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Gran Canaria, Kaunas, Kraków, Madrid, Porto, Poznań, Rzeszów, Sofia, Venice, Wrocław Seasonal: Bergerac, Béziers, Fuerteventura, Gdańsk, Girona, Grenoble, Ibiza, Knock, Limoges, Valencia

| SunExpress | Antalya

| TUI Airways | Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Hurghada, Lanzarote, Sal, Sharm El Sheikh, Tenerife–South Seasonal: Antalya, Burgas, Chambéry, Corfu, Dalaman, Enfidha, Geneva, Heraklion, Kefalonia, Kos, Marrakesh, Menorca, Palma de Mallorca, Reus, Rhodes, Rovaniemi, Salzburg, Skiathos, Thessaloniki, Toulouse, Turin, Verona, Zakynthos !! style="width:125px"| Number of movements

!1997

|1,614,837 || 59,547

!1998

|1,838,219 || 61,582

!1999

|1,993,331 || 62,072

!2000

|2,141,525 || 63,252

!2001

|2,694,464 || 69,854

!2002

|3,445,945 || 72,152

!2003

|3,915,072 || 74,635

!2004

|4,647,266 || 77,956

!2005

|5,253,752 || 84,289

!2006

|5,757,963 || 84,583

!2007

|5,926,774 || 76,428

!2008

|6,267,114 || 76,517

!2009

|5,642,921 || 70,245

!2010

|5,747,604 || 69,134

!2011

|5,780,746 || 66,179

!2012

|5,921,530 || 61,206

!2013

|6,131,896 || 65,299

!2014

|6,339,805 || 64,230

!2015

|6,786,790 || 68,074

!2016

|7,610,780 || 73,536

!2017

|8,239,250 || 76,199

!2018

|8,699,529 || 72,927

!2019

|8,964,242 || 69,434

!2020

|2,194,524 || 29,191

!2021

|2,087,772 || 32,278

!2022

|7,948,941 || 56,391

!2023

|9,911,879 || 68,718

!2024

|10,479,112 || 78,554

!2025

|10,833,730 || 78,084

|- class="sortbottom"

| colspan="5" style="text-align:right;"| Source: CAA Statistics

Busiest routes

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:1em auto;"

|+ Busiest international routes from Bristol (2024)

! Rank

! Destination

! Passengers

! Change 2023 to 2024

| 1

| Amsterdam

| 502,440

| 6%

| 2

| Alicante

| 487,980

| 5.2%

| 3

| Palma de Mallorca

| 482,455

| 12.5%

| 4

| Dublin

| 434,444

| 8.4%

| 5

| Tenerife-South

| 421,952

| 13.2%

| 6

| Málaga

| 396,867

| 0.6%

| 7

| Faro

| 380,930

| 8%

| 8

| Barcelona

| 274,641

| 0.8%

| 9

| Lanzarote

| 267,220

| 7.7%

| 10

| Paris-Charles de Gaulle

| 266,556

| 25%

|- class="sortbottom"

| colspan="4" style="text-align:right;"| Source: CAA Statistics which provides a link from the A38 northwards to the A370 at Long Ashton, giving the airport an improved connection to the M5, and a link from the A38 southwards to Hengrove Park, connecting to the Bristol Ring Road.

Bus and Coach services

There are currently four main bus services to & from the airport, all operated by First West of England.

The A1 operates from the airport to Bristol Bus Station via Bedminster and Bristol Temple Meads.

The A2 operates from the airport to Portishead via Backwell, Nailsea, Tickenham, Clevedon and Weston-in-Gordano.

The A3 operates from the airport to Weston-super-Mare Station via Cleeve, Congresbury and Worle Station.

The A4 operates from the airport to Bath via Brislington, Hengrove, Keynsham and Saltford.

The South West Falcon, operated by Stagecoach South West runs between Bristol Cabot Circus and Plymouth, via the airport, Churchill, Brent Knoll, Bridgwater, Taunton and Exeter.

National Express and Flixbus also serve the airport, operating services to Birmingham, Cardiff, London, Nottingham, Penzance, Plymouth and Swansea .

In September 2023, as part of the airport's expansion plans, construction started on a £60 million multi-storey car park which includes one of the region's largest bus interchanges on its roof, it increased the number of bus and coach bays from 6 to 16. In July 2025, the new public transport interchange opened. The West of England LEP subsequently announced their application to the Department for Transport's Large Local Major Transport Schemes fund for the "South West Bristol Economic Link" – a strategy designed to address "poor connectivity between North Somerset, Bristol Airport and Bristol", which includes new road links as well as light or heavy rail opportunities. By 2019, this proposal had been expanded as a mass transit line with potential for underground sections.

In February 2026, the West of England Combined Authority published a new Transport Vision setting out a regional ambition to begin building a mass transit system in Bristol within four to five years. The document noted that Bristol Airport is currently the only regional airport in the country without a fixed mass transit connection, and included early concept images depicting a mass transit vehicle serving the airport.

General aviation

thumb|Centreline Air Charter [[Cessna Citation CJ2 taking off at Bristol Airport.]]

Bristol Airport is a general aviation (GA) centre. In 2006, the GA terminal was relocated from the north side next to the control tower to a purpose-built facility on the south east corner of the field. Handling for visiting executive GA aircraft is managed by Bristol Flying Centre, which also provides engineering services and operates a fleet of business jets trading as Centreline Air Charter. Handling for light GA aircraft is managed by the Bristol and Wessex Aeroplane Club.

In 2012, Bristol Flying Centre doubled the size of its terminal, to , with self-contained security facilities and two new passenger lounges. Following the closure of Bristol Filton Airport at the end of 2012, Bristol Flying Centre gained fixed-base operator traffic such as the corporate shuttle for Airbus, flying to Toulouse, and the shuttle for BAE Systems.

In 2014, a new building called The Bristol Flying School was constructed to re-house the Bristol & Wessex Aeroplane Club and to contain a flying school operated by Aeros Flight Training, which formerly operated at Filton Airport.

Accidents and incidents

On 19 January 1970, Vickers Viscount G-AMOA of Cambrian Airways was damaged beyond economic repair in a heavy landing.
On 15 September 2006, an easyJet Airbus A319 (registration G-EZAC) operating as easyJet Flight 6074 from Alicante, suffered a major electrical failure over Nantes, France, which almost led to a mid-air collision with an American Airlines Boeing 777, landed at Bristol Airport with no injuries or fatalities.
On 3 October 2010, a Thomson Airways Boeing 767 aircraft, registration G-OOBK, landed heavily on runway 09 in severe weather conditions, reduced visibility and turbulence. The flight number 519 was from Cancún Airport in Mexico and carried 258 passengers and 12 crew members. No injuries were reported. During approach, the commander decided to perform a manual landing as weather reported at Bristol was not consistent with that presented to them at their briefing. Both the commander and co-pilot were thrown forward during the touchdown, and this resulted in the commander pushing the control column forward, to a nose down position. The aircraft then rapidly pitched up and down, before eventually settling on the landing gear. None of the pilots had recent or regular experience of landings on runway 09, and they only operated to Bristol Airport approximately twice a year.
On 22 December 2017, a BMI Regional Embraer ERJ145 aircraft, registration G-CKAG, exited the runway and became grounded after landing at 11:35. The flight was from Frankfurt and was carrying 22 passengers and three crew. No injuries were reported. The parking brake had been applied instead of the speed brakes before landing. The aircraft touched down on runway 27, the crew lost control of the aircraft and the aircraft exited the runway and entered a grass zone to the left, crossing taxiway Hotel at speed, causing the main landing gear tyres to burst. The aircraft came to rest in the grass shortly after. The aircraft was towed to the gate some 14 hours later. The incident resulted in several flights being diverted to other airports on what was called "Frantic Friday" as holidaymakers and families travelled for the Christmas period.
On 4 March 2024, TUI Airways Flight 6114, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, registration G-FDZS, barely cleared the A38 road by less than 100 ft during takeoff. The AAIB determined that the plane's autothrottle was disconnected uncommanded due to a known fault with voltage being supplied to the autothrottle servo motor in 737s.

Notes

References

External links

Airport committee archive papers