Bristol Airport announces new expansion plans including long haul flights and bigger terminal
It comes less than two years after the Airport's last expansion plans, which proved controversial, were finally approved
Bristol Airport is hoping to expand again with plans to lengthen its runway, grow the terminal and provide new flights to North America and the Middle East, in an announcement which is likely to prove controversial.
It marks the second time the Airport has announced major expansion plans in the last decade. It took airport bosses a lengthy legal battle lasting five years to gain approval for their last growth idea, which they first revealed details of in 2018.
This latest development plan, the Airport says, would support 37,000 jobs in the South West and South Wales including 1,000 new jobs.
What do Airport bosses want to do?
Currently the Airport is allowed to manage 12 million passengers a year. This new "masterplan", if it is approved by planning officials, would allow the Airport to serve 15 million people every 12 months.
It estimates 15 million people will be looking to use the Airport annually, by 2036.
In order to accommodate so many more passengers the proposals include:
- Expanding the terminal with improved walkways to aircraft, featuring travellators.
- Improved on-site retail, food and beverage facilities including a new hotel and space for flight catering, engineering "and other requirements for airport businesses.
- New taxiways and an extended runway by around the length of one and a half football pitches, to allow for more long haul flights to the east coast of America and the Middle East.
- Improvements to the A38 and public transport connections
- More car parking to the north and south of the Airport.
As part of such growth the Airport says "aircraft movements" would increase from 85,990 a year to 100,000, which bosses say, would equate to 35 more movements a day during busy periods.
Night flights would also increase by an average of four a night in busy periods.
"UK Government policy supports the growth of airports outside the South East of England that make better use of existing runways, and that grow and develop new routes and services," a Bristol Airport spokesperson said.
"Bristol Airport’s proposals 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."
Previous opposition to airport expansion has centred around the idea that it should not be allowed while the UK and wider world deals with a climate emergency.
However, Airport Chief Executive Dave Lees insists the demand for flights is growing, not diminishing.
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.”
The expansion saga
It was only in 2023 that a long standing legal battle over whether the Airport should be allowed to expand to 12 million annual passengers, ended.
Bristol Airport submitted a planning application to North Somerset Council regarding that idea back in 2018, but it took until May 2023 for it to finally be given the go ahead.
The plan was initially rejected by the Council's Planning Committee on climate grounds in 2020. It was then approved by a Planning Inspectorate on appeal and then taken to the High Court by climate campaigners, with a judge eventually ruling it could go ahead.
As part of those plans the Airport proposed building a new multi-storey car park on site, creating a new bus and coach station and expanding the terminal, with construction work now taking place.
Given how long it took those plans to be approved, a similarly long road may lie ahead for this latest idea.
“We recognise there will be concerns about carbon emissions resulting from Airport growth and the implications for climate change," Chief Executive Lees said.
"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.”
Give your views
A two month consultation period is now beginning, during which you can give your views on their Airport's ideas.
You can see them in full and submit your thoughts, on a specific website about the ideas via this link.
Officially the consultation is open until 31st January 2025.
*The Airport's pledge to achieve net zero emissions by 2030 does not take into account pollution from the aircraft.