Bristol Airport facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bristol Airport
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan | ||||||||||
| Serves | Bristol, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Wiltshire | ||||||||||
| Location | Lulsgate Bottom, North Somerset | ||||||||||
| Focus city for | |||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 622 ft / 190 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 51°22′58″N 002°43′09″W / 51.38278°N 2.71917°W | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
 EGGD
Location in Somerset
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| Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||
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Bristol Airport (BRS/EGGD) is an international airport in North Somerset, England. It serves the city of Bristol and the areas around it. The airport is about 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Bristol city centre. It was built on the site of a former RAF airfield.
The airport first opened in 1957 as Bristol (Lulsgate) Airport. It took over from Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport as Bristol's main airport. From 1997 to 2010, it was known as Bristol International Airport. In 2014, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan became its only owner.
In 2019, Bristol Airport was the eighth busiest airport in the United Kingdom. It handled over 8.9 million passengers that year. Many people from Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Devon use this airport. Airlines like EasyJet and Ryanair have main bases here. The airport has a special licence that allows it to offer flights for public travel and flying lessons.
Contents
A Look Back: Airport History
The First Airport: Whitchurch
Before Bristol Airport, there was Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport. It opened in 1930 and was one of the first civil airports in the UK. By 1939, about 4,000 passengers used it each year.
During World War II, Whitchurch Airport was very important. It was the main airport still open for civilian flights. The British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) used it for flights around the British Empire. Even Winston Churchill flew from Bristol during the war.
A Wartime Airfield: RAF Lulsgate Bottom
In 1940, a new airfield was set up at Lulsgate Bottom. It was called RAF Lulsgate Bottom. This airfield was high up, which was good when other airfields were foggy. It was used for training and as a backup landing spot.
In 1941, the airfield was made bigger with three runways. The first aircraft to land there was actually a German plane! Its crew got lost because of a trick radio signal. By 1942, RAF Lulsgate Bottom was officially open. It was used for training pilots and for anti-aircraft defence exercises. BOAC also used it for training and as an alternate airport. The RAF stopped using the airfield in 1946 after the war ended.
Bristol's New Airport: Lulsgate
After the war, Whitchurch Airport needed a longer runway for bigger planes. But it was hard to expand because of nearby houses. So, in 1955, the city of Bristol bought the Lulsgate airfield.
The city spent money to build a new airport terminal. In April 1957, all flights moved from Whitchurch to the new airport. It was officially opened on May 1, 1957, by Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent. In its first year, 33,000 people used the new Bristol (Lulsgate) Airport. Over the years, the airport added a new control tower, lengthened its runway, and expanded the terminal.
Growing Bigger: Bristol International
In 1997, the airport changed its name to Bristol International Airport. A new terminal building was built, opening in 2000. This cost £27 million. In 2000, over two million passengers used the airport for the first time.
In 2001, the airport was bought by a group of companies. Low-cost airlines like Go Fly (later EasyJet) and Ryanair started using Bristol as a base. This helped passenger numbers grow quickly. By 2008, six million people were using the airport each year.
Today's Bristol Airport
In 2010, the airport was rebranded simply as Bristol Airport. It got a new logo and a new slogan: "Amazing journeys start here."
Bristol Airport does not use jetways (the bridges that connect the terminal directly to the plane). Passengers usually walk to their flights or take a bus. In 2010, a long walkway was built to help passengers get to their planes more easily. In 2014, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan became the sole owner of the airport.
What's Next: Airport Expansion
Bristol Airport has plans to grow even more in the future. These plans include making the passenger terminal bigger and adding more places for planes to park. They also want to build more car parks.
There has been some debate about these expansion plans. Some groups are worried about the airport's effect on the environment. However, in 2022, the airport was given permission to increase its capacity from 10 million to 12 million passengers per year.
In September 2023, the airport started building a new £60 million transport hub. This project will include a large bus interchange with many more bus and coach bays. It will also add over 2,000 new parking spaces. This will make it much easier for people to get to and from the airport.
Where Can You Fly From Bristol?
Many airlines fly from Bristol Airport to different places. Here are some of the airlines and their destinations:
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Aegean Airlines | Athens
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| Aer Lingus | Cork, Dublin
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| Aurigny | Guernsey
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| Blue Islands | Jersey
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| Corendon Airlines | Seasonal: Antalya
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| easyJet | Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Basel/Mulhouse, Belfast–City, Belfast–International, Berlin, Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Enfidha, Faro, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Geneva, Gibraltar, Glasgow, Gran Canaria, Hurghada, Inverness, Isle of Man, Kraków, Lanzarote, Larnaca, Lisbon, Madrid, Málaga, Marrakesh, Milan–Malpensa, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Paris–Orly, Pisa, Porto, Prague, Rome–Fiumicino, Sharm El Sheikh, Tenerife–South, Toulouse, Venice Seasonal: Antalya, Athens, Bilbao, Bodrum, Catania, Chania, Corfu, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Grenoble, Heraklion, Ibiza, Innsbruck, Kefalonia, Kos, La Rochelle, Lyon, Malta, Marseille, Menorca, Murcia, Nantes, Naples, Olbia, Preveza/Lefkada, Pula, Reykjavík–Keflavík, Rhodes, Rovaniemi, Salzburg, Santorini, Skiathos, Sofia, Split, Tivat (begins 24 June 2024), Turin, Zakynthos |
| Jet2.com | Agadir (begins 6 October 2024), Alicante, Antalya, Faro, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Paphos, Tenerife–South Seasonal: Almería, Bodrum, Burgas, Chambéry, Chania, Corfu, Dalaman, Geneva, Girona, Heraklion, Ibiza, Innsbruck, İzmir, Kalamata (begins 7 May 2025), Kefalonia, Kos, Larnaca, Málaga, Malta, Menorca, Palma de Mallorca, Prague, Preveza/Lefkada, Reus, Reykjavík–Keflavík, Rhodes, Skiathos, Thessaloniki, Verona, Vienna, Zakynthos |
| KLM | Amsterdam
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| Loganair | Aberdeen
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| Ryanair | Alicante, Barcelona, Bergamo, Bucharest–Otopeni, Budapest, Bydgoszcz, Cologne/Bonn, Copenhagen, Dublin, Faro, Gran Canaria, Kaunas, Kraków, Lanzarote, Madrid, Málaga, Marrakesh, Porto, Poznań, Riga, Rzeszów, Sofia, Tenerife–South, Tirana, Venice, Wrocław Seasonal: Bergerac, Béziers, Fuerteventura (begins 1 July 2024), Gdańsk, Girona, Grenoble, Ibiza, Knock, Limoges, Marseille, Palma de Mallorca, Prague (begins 4 July 2024), Turin, Valencia |
| SunExpress | Antalya
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| Swiss International Air Lines | Zurich
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| TUI Airways | Boa Vista (begins 10 July 2024), Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Hurghada, Lanzarote, Sal, Sharm El Sheikh, Tenerife–South Seasonal: Antalya, Burgas, Chambéry, Corfu, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Geneva, Heraklion, Ibiza, Innsbruck, Kefalonia, Kittilä, Kos, Larnaca, Málaga, Marrakesh, Menorca, Naples, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Reus, Rhodes, Rovaniemi, Salzburg, Santorini, Skiathos, Thessaloniki, Toulouse, Turin, Verona, Zakynthos |
Airport Facts: Passengers and Flights
Bristol Airport has seen a lot of growth in the number of passengers it serves.
Passengers and Movements
| Number of passengers |
Number of movements |
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| 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 | ||
| Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority | ||||
Busiest Routes
Here are the busiest routes from Bristol Airport in 2018:
| Rank | Airport | Total passengers |
Change 2021 / 22 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alicante | 361,324 |  298.4% |
| 2 | Dublin | 351,152 | 231.3% |
| 3 | Palma de Mallorca | 350,929 | 244.2% |
| 4 | Amsterdam | 349,096 | 478.8% |
| 5 | Málaga | 316,799 | 298.8% |
| 6 | Edinburgh | 296,617 | 69.7% |
| 7 | Tenerife–South | 295,418 | 333.2% |
| 8 | Faro | 290,858 | 285.4% |
| 9 | Glasgow | 290,662 | 106.3% |
| 10 | Belfast–International | 251,256 | 50.9% |
Getting Around: Transport to the Airport
Bristol Airport is located on the A38, about 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Bristol city centre.
Roads and Buses
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The airport is signposted from the M5 motorway. In 2017, a new road called the South Bristol Link Road opened. This road makes it faster for buses and cars to reach the airport from the M5.
Several bus services connect the airport to Bristol city centre, Bristol Temple Meads railway station, and other nearby towns like Weston-super-Mare and Bath. There is also a bus service that goes to Newport and Cardiff. In 2023, work began on a new transport hub at the airport. This will greatly improve bus and coach services.
Future Train Plans
There have been talks about building a train link to the airport. This would make it even easier for people to get to the airport using public transport. Plans for a mass transit line, possibly with underground sections, are being considered.
Special Flights: General Aviation
Bristol Airport is also a hub for general aviation (GA). This means it handles smaller, private aircraft. In 2006, a special terminal was built for these planes.
Companies like Bristol Flying Centre offer services for executive planes. They also provide training for pilots. After Bristol Filton Airport closed, Bristol Airport took on more of this type of flight. In 2014, a new building called The Bristol Flying School opened. It houses the Bristol & Wessex Aeroplane Club and a flying school.
Important Events at the Airport
Over the years, there have been a few notable incidents involving aircraft at Bristol Airport.
In 1970, a Vickers Viscount plane was badly damaged during a heavy landing. In 2010, a Thomson Airways Boeing 767 landed heavily in bad weather, but no one was hurt. In 2017, a BMI Regional Embraer ERJ145 plane went off the runway after landing. Again, no injuries were reported, but this caused many flights to be diverted.
See also
In Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional de Brístol para niños
