Bristol International Airport
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| Bristol International Airport | |||
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| IATA: BRS – ICAO: EGGD | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | South West Airports Limited | ||
| Serves | Bristol | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 622 ft / 190 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 09/27 | 2,011 | 6,598 | Asphalt |
| Source: UK AIP at NATS | |||
Bristol International Airport (IATA: BRS, ICAO: EGGD) is the commercial airport serving the city of Bristol and the south west of England. In 2007 it was the ninth busiest airport in the United Kingdom, handling 58,741 air transport movements and 5,926,774 passengers. [1]
The airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P432) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers and for flying instruction.
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[edit] History
In 1927 a group of local businessmen raised £6,000 through public subscription to inaugurate a flying club at Filton Aerodrome.[2] By 1929 the club had become a success and it was decided that a farm located in Whitchurch near Bristol would be developed into an airport. In 1930, The Prince George, son of King George V opened Bristol Airport — becoming the third such airport in the United Kingdom. Passenger numbers grew from 935 in 1930 to over 4,000 in 1939.
During World War II, Bristol Airport was the only civil airport still in operation in the UK, meaning all flights usually bound for London were terminated in Bristol. The newly formed British Overseas Airways Corporation were dispersed to Whitchurch from Croydon and Gatwick Airports. They operated on routes to Lisbon, Portugal and to some other neutral nations. Whitchurch continued to be used after WW2, but the introduction of heavier post-war airliners made a runway extension highly desirable. However, this was very difficult, because of the proximity of the surrounding housing estates.
Consequently, a decision was taken in 1955 to develop a new airport at Lulsgate Bottom Airfield near Redhill, from a former wartime RAF station, which had been operating in peacetime as a glider station. The new airport was called Bristol Lulsgate Airport and was opened in 1957 by Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent. In its first year 33,000 people used the airport. In 1963 the runway was lengthened and in 1965 extensions were made to the terminal. In 1968 a new 5,000 square foot (460 m²) building was constructed. In 1974 the airline "Court Line" collapsed, causing a fall in passenger numbers.
By 1980, 17 charter airlines were operating from the airport. Additions in 1984 included an international departure lounge, duty free shops, a 24-hour air-side bar, an arrivals concourse, and a short-term car park. On 1 April 1987 all employees were transferred from Bristol City Council to Bristol Airport plc. The operation and net assets of Bristol Airport were transferred from the City of Bristol and the company commenced trading. Over the next few years business boomed with over 100,000 passengers each month in the summer of 1988. The growth of the airport at this time is attributed to the work of the managing director Les Wilson, who died in a car crash in November 1995.
In 1996 Bristol Airport was sold by Bristol City Council. In March 1997 its name was changed from Bristol Airport to Bristol International Airport. In December 1997 51% of the airport was sold to FirstGroup plc, while the remaining 49% stayed with Bristol City Council. A new terminal building was built in April 1999 and opened in March 2000. In 2000, passenger numbers exceeded two million for the first time.
The airport was bought by Macquarie Bank and Cintra in January 2001 for £198m. Passenger numbers passed through three million in 2002, largely due to the arrival of the low-cost carrier Go Fly. Continued expansion by easyJet led to another increase in passengers — to 3.8 million. In May 2005, Continental Airlines introduced a direct flight from Bristol to Newark with Boeing 757 aircraft.
[edit] Proposed expansion
Controversy surrounds the proposed expansion of the airport. A coalition to fight the expansion, known as Stop Bristol Airport Expansion has been formed by Bristol Friends of the Earth, Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and other groups and individuals in North Somerset, Bristol and Bath and North East Somerset. In October 2007 the airport announced that it would delay the planning application until the middle of 2008 to give it time to complete research on the airport's effect on the environment.[3] This news came just a week after the World Development Movement stated that flights from the airport generate the same amount of CO2 as the nation of Malawi.[4]
Plans for the expansion of the airport have been now completed and are to be submitted to the council for approval in summer 2008.
In early 2008, an opposition to the Stop Bristol Airport Expansion campaign was launched. Named BISON - Bristol International Supporters Group. The group was formed to support the expansion and operations of the airport. Putting a good face to the airport, representing the views of more than 70% of people living in Bristol.
The BISON group is targeted at the travelling public, whether it be for business or pleasure. And staff members at the airport who rely on such expansion to grow and succeed.
[edit] 2007 resurfacing controversy
On 5 January 2007 many flights were cancelled or diverted, including all easyJet and XL Airways flights. This was due to braking action on the runway not being the required standard for safe stopping in wet conditions. Virtually all of the operations were moved to Cardiff International Airport by these two airlines. easyJet moved 60% of its operations to Cardiff during this weekend of disruption, the first time easyJet had ever need to undertake such a move.
The problem arose from a new £17 million asphalt runway surface not being sufficiently grooved to allow water run off. Although the new runway was given Civil Aviation Authority clearance on 4 January 2007, there had been a number of incidents over the previous four weeks, with aircraft unable to stop without running over the operating limits of the runway.
A British Airways spokeswoman said it would not operate flights if the runway moisture levels were above a certain level, and subsequently the airline cancelled several of their flights.[5]
On Sunday 7 January 2007, following further cancellations, Bristol Airport management made the decision to close the runway from 14:30 for work to resolve the problem. The runway remained closed during Monday 8 January.[6]
[edit] Airlines and destinations
[edit] Scheduled services
The following is a list of regular scheduled airlines and their destinations. Holiday or charter flights are not listed.
- Aer Arann (Cork)
- Air France (Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
- Air Southwest (Jersey, Leeds/Bradford, Manchester, Newquay, Plymouth)
- Aurigny Air Services (Guernsey)
- Brussels Airlines (Brussels)
- Continental Airlines (Newark)
- Eastern Airways (Aberdeen)
- easyJet (Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belfast-International, Berlin-Schönefeld, Biarritz, Bordeaux, Edinburgh, Faro, Funchal, Geneva, Glasgow-International, Grenoble, Ibiza [begins 11 July], Innsbruck, Inverness, Kraków, La Rochelle, Lisbon, Madrid, Mahon [seasonal July 12 - September 13], Málaga, Marseille [begins 1 July], Milan-Malpensa, Murcia, Newcastle, Nice, Olbia, Palma de Mallorca, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Pisa, Prague, Rome-Ciampino, Split, Toulouse, Valencia, Venice, Warsaw)
- Flybe (Jersey)
- Flyglobespan (Toronto-Hamilton)
- Isles of Scilly Skybus (Isles of Scilly)
- KLM Cityhopper (Amsterdam)
- Lufthansa
- operated by Eurowings (Frankfurt)
- OLT (Ostfriesische Lufttransport) (Bremen, Hamburg)
- Ryanair (Bergerac, Beziers, Bratislava, Budapest, Derry, Dinard, Dublin, Gdańsk [begins 29 October], Girona, Katowice, Knock, Marrakech [begins 28 October], Milan-Bergamo, Pau, Porto, Poznań, Riga, Rzeszów, Salzburg, Shannon, Szczecin [begins 28 October], Turin, Wroclaw)
- Scandinavian Airlines System (Oslo, Stockholm-Arlanda [seasonal])
[edit] Charter services
The following is a partial list of charter airlines and their destinations. As charter flights are mainly intended for holiday traffic they are seasonal and may not operate continuously through the year.
- Air Europa (Palma de Mallorca)
- BH Air (Bourgas, Varna, Plovdiv)
- Eurocypria Airlines (Heraklion, Larnaca)
- First Choice Airways (Alicante, Arrecife, Bodrum, Bourgas, Cancun, Corfu, Dalaman, Faro, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Heraklion, Ibiza, Izmir, Kefalonia, Larnaca, Las Palmas, Mahon, Málaga, Monastir, Naples, Orlando-Sanford, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Reus, Rhodes, Sharm el-Sheikh, Tenerife-South, Verona, Zakynthos)
- KoralBlue Airlines (Sharm el-Sheikh)
- Thomas Cook Airlines (Antalya, Arrecife, Bodrum, Corfu, Dalaman, Faro, Fuerteventura, Heraklion, Ibiza, Kos, Larnaca, Las Palmas, Mahon, Monastir, Naples, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Reus, Rhodes, Tenerife-South, Zakynthos)
- Thomsonfly (Thessaloniki)
- XL Airways (Alicante, Arrecife, Bolzano, Corfu, Dalaman, Faro, Fuerteventura, Heraklion, Hurghada, Kefalonia, Kos, Larnaca, Las Palmas, Luga, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Rhodes, Sharm el-Sheikh, Skiathos, Tenerife-South, Zakynthos)
[edit] Transport connections
Bristol International Airport is located on the A38, 8 miles (13 km) south of Bristol city centre. The airport is signposted from the M5, from junction 22 when approaching from the south and junction 18 when approaching from the north. Neither gives easy access to the airport, a fact which is recognised by the Greater Bristol Strategic Transport Study.[7] A number of solutions have been proposed, including a new link road between the A38 and the A371 but nothing has been approved.
The Bristol International Flyer bus service operates from Bristol calling at Bristol Temple Meads, Bristol Bus station and Clifton. The service takes 30 minutes from the city centre and can be booked as part of a Rail journey changing between train and bus at Bristol Temple Meads. First group operates an hourly service from Weston-super-Mare.
[edit] General aviation
Bristol Airport is a general aviation (GA) centre. In 2006 the GA terminal was relocated from the north side next to the control tower, to a purpose-built facility on the south east corner of the field. There are two GA organisations based at Bristol. All GA handling for visiting aircraft is managed by Bristol Flying Centre, who also provide pilot training and engineering services. Bristol & Wessex Aeroplane Club, who are based next to the Bristol Flying Centre, provide pilot training on both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ UK Civil Aviation Authority Airports Data - 2007
- ^ The History of Bristol Airport. The Airport Guides. Retrieved on 2007-12-10.
- ^ Airport expansion plans grounded. BBC News (20 October 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-23.
- ^ Airport CO2 rivals African nation. BBC News (11 October 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-23.
- ^ Flights cancelled in safety row. BBC News (5 January 2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-11.
- ^ Safety row disrupts ten airlines. BBC News (6 January 2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-11.
- ^ Surface Access Strategy 2006 to 2001 (PDF). Bristol International Airport (September 2006). Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
[edit] External links
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