Bristol Airport plans for expansion and 'long-haul destinations'

The Airport also launched a two-month public consultation on Monday, November 25, offering people the opportunity "to help shape the future plans" by sharing their views.

Proposals include an extension to create a larger terminal building, with travellators and walkways "directly serving aircraft" so fewer passengers have to catch a bus to the plane.

Plans for Bristol Airport's expansion. (Image: Bristol Airport)

Read More: Residents oppose Bristol Airport’s expansion plans

Bristol Airport said the proposals would enable it to provide more connections and serve new destinations, including longer-haul flights connecting directly with the East Coast of America and the Middle East. 

Bristol Airport's food and beverage offering could also see improvement as part of the plans, with investment in on-site facilities, retail, and the addition of a new hotel.

The airfield would also see improvements, with new taxiways, apron extensions, additional aircraft stands, and an extension of the short runway by "one and a half football pitches" to accommodate longer-range aircraft for long-haul destinations and "more efficient short-haul flights".

Bristol Airport claims these changes to the runway could "help reduce noise from departing aircraft to the west."

Additionally, the Airport has proposed improvements to the "capacity" of A38 and public transport connections. More parking would be added to the north and south of the airport.

Bristol Airport states that the future development would "provide a boost to the local economy".

It forecasts that the proposed plans would support "more than 37,000 jobs in the South West and South Wales – including an additional 1,000 jobs at the Airport, with employment focused on areas including Weston-super-Mare and South Bristol". 

The two-month-long consultation is now open, running until January 31, with a "dedicated website" providing more information and an interactive map detailing proposals  — www.bristolairport.co.uk/future-plans.

Bristol Airport serves 10 million passengers a year, and claims to provide more than 5,000 local jobs and contribute £2 billion to the regional economy. It connects the region to more than 115 destinations "increases productivity, supports businesses and enables inbound tourism". 

The masterplan aims to increase the number of passengers the airport can serve per year up to 15 million by around 2036. The current allowance is 12 million passengers per annum.

A planning application is "likely to be going to North Somerset Council" next year, with a "clear development intent" to be considered by the local planning process.

Dave Lees, Chief Executive Officer of Bristol Airport, said: "We constantly look at trends in air travel and we've been pleasantly surprised that people want to continue to travel by air.

"We've seen since the pandemic a real resurgence in terms of people wanting to connect with friends and family across Europe as well as across the world and that will inform our plans as we go forward over the coming years.

"The masterplan will look at what further development might be required to meet this growing demand for air travel and we’d welcome input from people to help shape our plans."

Mr Lees added that more than £400 million is currently being invested in "improving customer experience and reducing the Airport’s carbon emissions".

He said: "We’re continuously investing in improvements to meet current demand, with our new £64 million Public Transport Interchange currently under construction. Work is also ongoing to decarbonise operations at the Airport on projects removing gas from our site, to be replaced with heat pumps. 

“We recognise there will be concerns about carbon emissions resulting from Airport growth and the implications for climate change. So we are bringing forward proposals for what we consider to be responsible growth, growth that is both within the current UK carbon budgets required to meet net zero for all emissions by 2050, and with measures to achieve net zero airport operations by 2030. Meanwhile, we are also committed to working with partners in our region on aviation decarbonisation.”

Bristol Airport said it has worked closely with airlines to improve the type of aircraft operating from the Airport, and has actively encouraged quieter new engine option aircraft with a 50% reduction in noise compared to standard aircraft.

One major airline has the highest number of quieter aircraft operating from Bristol Airport compared to their other UK bases, Bristol Airport said.

The increase in passengers from 12 million passengers per annum to 15 million passengers per annum, would see the number of aircraft movements increase from 85,990 to 100,000 per year in the longer term to meet demand for air travel, the airport stated.

On a busy day in the peak period, this would result in 35 extra aircraft movements.

While night flying restrictions would remain, the Airport is proposing to increase night flights by 1,000 - on average, four per night on a busy night in the peak period.

Last week members of Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN) said they felt the proposed plans were “premature”.

UK Government policy currently supports the growth of airports outside the South East of England that make better use of existing runways, and grow and develop new routes and services.

Bristol Airport said its proposal to provide new destinations would reduce the journeys to London airports, which 10 million passengers make from the South West and South Wales every year.