South West regional airport, Bristol Airport has recently revealed they saw record passenger numbers in 2023 with nearly 9.8 million passengers using the airport which makes 2023 the busiest year in the airport’s long history.
The airport was one of the fastest airports in the UK to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, passengers were eagar to travel again for holidays and to visit friends and family and passengers have continued to grow since the pandemic and are now at a higher level than before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the airport reporting a 10% increase of passengers before and after the pandemic.
One particular day last year was in August 2023 when over 40000 passengers travelled through the airport during a 24 hour period. In 2023, Bristol Airport cemented its position as the gateway for South West England and South Wales, connecting with more destinations and serving more passengers than all the other airports in these regions combined.
Graeme Gamble the Chief Operating Officer at Bristol Airport had this to say: “Last year saw fantastic results as more people than ever saw the benefits of flying from our region’s gateway airport and we welcomed in visitors from all over the UK and Europe. Our business partners, airlines, and Bristol Airport have been able to create new jobs, building up our position as the area’s largest private sector employer.
Over 8 million people a year drive out of our region to fly from London airports. Our plan for growth in 2024 and beyond is to give as many of those people as possible the chance to fly local and reach their destination through Bristol Airport.
Over 115 destinations will be served from Bristol Airport in 2024. Major investment to upgrade the Airport this year will deliver new airport lounges and more retail space as it moves towards serving 12 million passengers a year.”
During 2024 the airport will see major investment with the construction of a brand new £60 million public transport hub and additional multi storey car park, work will be complete in Summer 2025 and passengers will be able to use a new glazed bridge connecting the new transport hub with the terminal. This is the largest development project seen at the airport since the main terminal was built over 20 years ago.
Simon has been writing aviation articles for nearly 10 years and is the senior article writer at Fresh Aviation, with a background in aviation and a commercial pilot Simon knows his stuff in the aviation world. Simon has spoken on BBC Radio, contributed to Bristol Post and has various aviation articles on various websites.