Bristol Airport launches consultation setting out masterplan to 2040
Bristol Airport has launched a two-month consultation on its long-term expansion plans which include expanding its terminal and an extended runway.
There are now more than 10 million passengers a year using Bristol Airport, providing more than 5,000 local jobs and contributing £2bn to the regional economy.
The masterplan to 2040 will look at expected passenger growth beyond the current allowance of 12 million passengers a year, so it can serve up to 15 million passengers per year by around 2036.
It said this will set a clear development intent to be given due consideration in the local planning process, with a planning application likely to be going to North Somerset Council next year.
Proposals include:
Terminal extension: A larger terminal building, with improved walkways directly serving aircraft and so reducing passenger transport to aircraft by bus. To further improve the customer experience, travellators would be installed.
Supporting facilities: Improved on-site facilities including retail, food and beverage and an additional hotel, as well as more space for flight catering, engineering and other requirements for airport businesses.
Airfield: New taxiways, apron extensions and additional aircraft stands. A short runway improvement – around the size of one and a half football pitches – will enable longer-range aircraft, serving a limited number of long-haul destinations and more efficient short-haul flights that will continue to be the majority of flights for the foreseeable future. The runway improvement could help reduce noise from departing aircraft to the west.
Transport: Capacity improvements on the A38 and improvements to public transport connections to the Airport are proposed.
Parking provision: Plans to increase car parking provision to the north and south of the Airport.
Dave Lees, chief executive 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.”
Lees added that more than £400m is currently being invested on improving customer experience and reducing the airport’s carbon emissions: “We’re continuously investing in improvements to meet current demand, with our new £64m 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.”
The consultation runs from 25 November 2024 to 31 January 2025. People can find out more about the airport’s proposals and provide feedback at www.bristolairport.co.uk/future-plans
