Bristol Airport labelled "tone-deaf" for suggesting further expansion
Two years ago the Airport won a long running legal battle to grow by 2 million passengers a year
Bosses at Bristol Airport are being labelled "tone deaf and reckless" by politicians from the Green Party, for suggesting the site should be allowed to expand again for the second time since 2023.
Two years ago the Airport won a long running legal battle to grow its passenger cap from 10 million a year to 12 million a year, with bosses saying they are now seeking approval to grow that cap again, to 15 million annually by 2040.
A consultation is currently open on the latest expansion plans, which would see the terminal building made larger, new taxiways and aircraft stands created and improvements to the A38 which leads to the airport.
It comes as construction work continues onsite to facilitate the growth to 12 million passengers a year, by creating a public transport hub and new multi storey car park on site, among other things.
Commenting on the current consultation, a statement from the leader of the Green group on Bristol City Council Emma Edwards says: “In the teeth of a worsening climate emergency, it’s frankly staggering that Bristol Airport is yet again planning to expand.
"The last thing our city and the region needs is yet more carbon emissions from flights, more traffic congestion, more noise, and worsening air quality.
"We condemn these plans in the strongest possible terms.”
Airport chief executive Dave Lees says however, that the Airport is merely looking to meet demand for flights.
He 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 adds millions of pounds are being invested to reduce the Airport's carbon emissions.
He said: "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.”
Current UK government policy is supporting the expansion of airports, with approval recently given to expand London City Airport so it can handle 9 million passengers a year by 2031.
London Stansted has confirmed an additional £1.1 billion investment into extending its terminal and enhancing the passenger journey, which they expect will double its economic contribution and create up to 5,000 new jobs.
Most significantly, the new Labour government is backing proposals for a third runway at London Heathrow, which has been debated for decades.
You can find out more about Bristol Airport's latest expansion plans here.