Bristol: General Airport News, Updates & Discussion

[Foxlimayankee]

Didn't Cardiff have a large sum of money from the WG as part of the initial nearly £200m thats been spent on it?

On a slightly different note, with all the expansion happening at Bristol it will be interesting to see what happens with the road infrastructure to be able to cope with increased traffic. If BRS expects the local councils or Government to fund it, that will be an interesting topic of conversation.

 

[Jerry]

Bristol Airport Chief Executive to step down after 8 years in the role

Chief Executive of Bristol Airport steps down

The CEO of Bristol Airport has announced he will step down from the role.

www.thewestonmercury.co.uk

 

[Jerry]

ITV report about the protest against the runway extension

https://www.itv.com/watch/news/mass-demo-staged-over-bristol-airport-expansion-plans/1f6185j?fbclid=IwY2xjawRUVJlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR4bJ3m_9oxV1m6JAIEP2e3VOzDN2fF2GcXEyD74nGAX-WaoRF7GKe1aKLrFbw_aem_qaBG7GqOL5S1wzlzkHd3RA

 

[Red Flyer]

At least the Freddie Mercury tribute act got another day’s work!!!!

 

[t.ash.27]

Bristol Airport Chief Executive to step down after 8 years in the role

Seems unexpected. I wonder if he's fallen out with someone (new owners?)

 

[Foxlimayankee]

He's been in the post for about 8-9 years and there's some big expansion plans coming. It could be that he's in a position where he can retire/seek other opportunities and handover to someone that can take over the long term projects before they start.

 

[Marko1]

Planning application now available to view on the North Somerset council planning portal

 

[t.ash.27]

Demand forecasts for the expansion have been added to the planning application. These contain timetables for busy days based on several scenarios. Notable routes include AA JFK, EK DXB, TK IST, BY MCO, LH FRA, W6 KTW, LX ZRH and LO WAW

https://planning.n-somerset.gov.uk/online-applications/files/77DD56D08DB1E0CBD160F4957AE83F66/pdf/26_P_0686_OU2-DEMAND_FORECASTS_-_CORE_CASE_ENVIRONMENTAL_OUTPUTS-3591623.pdf

 

[Jerry]

Demand forecasts for the expansion have been added to the planning application. These contain timetables for busy days based on several scenarios. Notable routes include AA JFK, EK DXB, TK IST, BY MCO, LH FRA, W6 KTW, LX ZRH and LO WAW

https://planning.n-somerset.gov.uk/online-applications/files/77DD56D08DB1E0CBD160F4957AE83F66/pdf/26_P_0686_OU2-DEMAND_FORECASTS_-_CORE_CASE_ENVIRONMENTAL_OUTPUTS-3591623.pdf

Interesting list. Not sure it's realistic but there we go.

 

[Foxlimayankee]

Demand forecasts for the expansion have been added to the planning application. These contain timetables for busy days based on several scenarios. Notable routes include AA JFK, EK DXB, TK IST, BY MCO, LH FRA, W6 KTW, LX ZRH and LO WAW

https://planning.n-somerset.gov.uk/online-applications/files/77DD56D08DB1E0CBD160F4957AE83F66/pdf/26_P_0686_OU2-DEMAND_FORECASTS_-_CORE_CASE_ENVIRONMENTAL_OUTPUTS-3591623.pdf

The only realistic possibility i can see in that list is TK IST.

AA aren't that big on uk regional airports anymore
I cant see EK being interested in BRS, or CWL for that matter.
BY have reduced Orlando in BHX, and fly to MEB anyway.
LH ended FRA
W6 ended KTW
W6 & FR ended WAW

 

[Marko1]

In fairness I don’t think it’s meant as an accurate forecast but merely a demonstration of how a schedule in the late 20s, and 30s would look like and tbh it would have to involve those kinds of frequencies to get to 15 mill. As for Warsaw that must be top of bristols target list - I think it was only dropped thanks to a dispute b/w Ryanair and Warsaw Modlin. As for Wizz I think it’s missing from Bristol - lots of routes out there with potential that Ryanair doesn’t seem interested in .

As for the others an airport that wants growth must have ambition and with a runway extension why can’t we have Dubai or New York ?

We are talking ten years forward and lots happens in that time

 

[Finger66]

If Wizz appears then rest assured Ryanair will start to show an interest in the same routes

 

[Jerry]

As for the others an airport that wants growth must have ambition and with a runway extension why can’t we have Dubai or New York ?

It's not really up to the airport though is it? It's up to the airlines. If they don't want to serve an airport they won't.
With long haul especially JFK and Dubai it needs to be remembered there's at least 20 daily widebodies to Heathrow between those destinations provided by the carriers Bristol wants to attract.

 

[Marko1]

They surely must be having conversations with potential airlines otherwise surely they wouldn’t be going through the hassle of trying to put lights on a public common. It is that that could scupper the whole thing. The fact that the airport keeps going back to long haul suggests that they must be receiving some encouragement from source otherwise they could just say - we won’t target long haul and no need for wide bodies to be landing and taking off from Bristol.

 

[Jerry]

They surely must be having conversations with potential airlines otherwise surely they wouldn’t be going through the hassle of trying to put lights on a public common. It is that that could scupper the whole thing. The fact that the airport keeps going back to long haul suggests that they must be receiving some encouragement from source otherwise they could just say - we won’t target long haul and no need for wide bodies to be landing and taking off from Bristol.

I'd have thought that potentially any extension would have benefits for the airlines that operate there especially for longer routes like the Canaries and Egypt.
I think with long and regional airports there's probably a lot hopeful thinking when it comes to routes. They're marquee signings i suppose you could call them especially for regional airports.

 

[Jerry]

Is Bristol closed until tomorrow?

 

[MrFenner]

Is Bristol closed until tomorrow?

Passengers ‘frustrated’ after Bristol Airport suspends flights for 14 hours

 

[Jerry]

Passengers ‘frustrated’ after Bristol Airport suspends flights for 14 hours

Is it me or does this seem to happening quite a bit at Bristol?

 

[MrFenner]

Is it me or does this seem to happening quite a bit at Bristol?

This was the second time within 2 months - the last being on 22 June due to a storm taking out essential ATC systems.

Airport closed and planes grounded after thunderstorm (BBC News, 22 June 2026)

It does seem to grind to a halt all too frequently, albeit most of the reasons being unavoidable I guess…

 

[Aviador]

Is it me or does this seem to happening quite a bit at Bristol?

Only one runway? Heavier usage?

It really does happen more frequently than people think at all airports. It hasn't been long since Manchester had a similar problem, but there they were able to switch to the second runway.