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Bristol Airport Information

Facilities

Bristol International Airport provides a wide range of facilities for business and leisure travellers including children and those requiring special assistance.

Business Facilities - The Servisair Executive Lounge - Cabot Lounge is available for all passengers and provides them with a quiet space complete with complimentary drinks, snacks, newspapers, TV and WI FI Internet access. Conveniently located in the Departures area and close to the shops and restaurants, the lounge is pleasantly decorated and makes use of the terminal's natural light through the use of glass.

Leisure Facilities - Bristol Airport has a good range of shopping, eating and banking facilities which include Burger King; Caffe Ritazza; Claire's; Starbucks; Subway; Superdrug; Travelex; W H Smith and World Duty Free Shopping. There are baby changing facilities; car hire desks; cash points; information desk; post box; telephones, toilets and trolleys available throughout the terminal.

Special Assistance Facilities - Bristol Airport recognises that each of their customers has different requirements and needs, and offers additional help and advice for those who are disabled, infirm or travelling alone with young children and require assistance. Assistance is free of charge and any of their customer service personnel will be happy to assist with any enquiry. OCS Ltd have been contracted by Bristol Airport to provide assistance to persons with reduced mobility.

Should you require the use of a wheelchair during your passage through the terminal, OCS Ltd and Bristol Airport will provide wheelchairs. On arrival at Bristol Airport please contact the OCS desk situated on the ground floor next to the lifts.

The long term, short term and rapid pick up car parks are all equipped with specially marked bays for customers with disabilities. For general enquiries regarding the parking facilities contact Bristol Airport car parks on 0871 334 4450. When you arrive you will find the car park staff are on hand 24 hours a day to offer guidance and assistance. They can be contacted by using the parking intercom system. Press the red 'Help' button located on every entrance barrier, exit barrier or payment machine to be connected directly to a member of staff. Should you require any further assistance the car park staff will be happy to liaise with OCS Ltd on your behalf. A nonstop courtesy bus service is provided to transport you between the long term car park and terminal building. All buses are equipped with ramps to enable customers who use wheelchairs to use this service.

Facilities for the hard of hearing include an induction loop to enhance the public address system and Internet booths are located both prior to, and after entering the departure lounge. The Customer Service staff will be able to assist with any enquiries. Facilities for the partially sighted include a low-level flight information screen at the airport information point. Guide dogs and hearing dogs are the only animals allowed inside the terminal building. Tactile signage is in place in all passenger lifts and at the entrance to the toilet cubicles. An audible voice level indicator is in operation in all passenger lifts.

Unisex disabled toilets are located on all levels. These cubicles are equipped with an alarm cord that links directly with the terminal control centre. Baby changing facilities are located on all levels and are available in both male and female toilets as well as some unisex baby changing rooms. Baby changing rooms are equipped with hot and cold taps, cloths and nappy bins. Priority seating is available at each departure gate. These seats are equipped with arms on both sides as well as space for wheelchairs.

Transport

Bristol Airport has four car parks offering drop and go, short and long term parking. Carparking.com can arrange meet & greet chauffeur parking and airport parking at Bristol Airport with our parking partners, Bristol Airport Car Parks. All of our parking partners provide efficient, reliable and cost-effective parking services.

The nearest station to Bristol International Airport is Bristol Temple Meads. The Bristol International Flyer Express coach service connects travellers to the airport every 15 minutes at peak times. National Express coach services operate long distance coach services from destinations all over the UK to Bristol Bus Station where passengers can connect to the Bristol International Flyer Express. National Express's London to Penzance overnight service 404/406 now stops at Bristol International Airport. It stops outside the terminal each night at 02:15 and 02:30 each day.

From Weston-Super-Mare, Wessex Connect run a bus service to Bristol Airport, calling at various local stops along the way. Service 121 runs approximately every two hours from 06.24 to 16.30 Monday to Friday. Weekend and Bank Holiday timetable variations apply.

Checker Cars are the dedicated taxi service that operate on-site at Bristol Airport. They have a fleet of air-conditioned, new model, Ford Galaxys and are available 24hrs a day. The booking desk is located within the covered walkway which links the terminal to the pick-up car park and is open 24/7.

History

In 1927, a group of Bristol businessmen raised £6,000 in public subscriptions to start a flying club at Filton Aerodrome. There was so much interest in their plans that they decided to draw up plans for a fully-fledged airport for Bristol and with this mind they purchased an area of farmland at Whitchurch was purchased and the airport was built in 1929.

Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport was officially opened by HRH Prince George in 1930 and was at this time only the third civil airport in the country. The airport developed slowly with passenger numbers increasing to 4,000 by 1939. After war was declared the airport was requisitioned by the Air Ministry and for the duration of the conflict was the only civil airport in operation in the UK.

Once the war ended, Whitchurch was considered to be an unsuitable site for Bristol's airport as it was not possible to extend the runway there. Consequently in 1955 Lulsgate Bottom Airfield, a disused RAF airfield which had been developed as a Fighter Command base, was bought by the Bristol Corporation to be developed as "Bristol (Lulsgate) Airport".

In 1957 the new airport was opened and in its first year of operation handled 33,000 passengers and 608,000 kilos of freight. The runway was lengthened in 1963 and two years later extensions were made to the terminal building. A further development in 1968 saw the construction of a new 5,000 square foot transit shed and many freight agents began to establish their operations at the airport.

By 1980, with the increase in the 'inclusive tour charter market' Bristol's financial standing was gradually improving and 17 tour operations were offering flights from Bristol. During the following five years further improvements were made to the facilities at the airport including a refurbishment of the terminal building, the installation of an Instrument Landing System, an extended aircraft-parking apron and a new fire station. By 1988 approximately 100,000 scheduled service passengers passed through the airport for the first time and HRH the Princess Royal opened the newly refurbished and extended check-in concourse.

Increased destinations and record passenger numbers continued, which resulted in one million passengers using the airport during the 1992/1993 period. Bristol Airport was sold by Bristol City Council in 1996 and it was rebranded as Bristol International Airport in 1997. FirstGroup invested £32 million in the development of the airport and a new terminal which was opened in March 2000. Transatlantic flights were also introduced from Bristol for the first time later that year.

Macquarie & Cintra acquired the Airport in January 2001 for 7pound:198 million and by February of the following year Bristol International Airport was officially the fastest growing airport in the UK. In August 2002 it announced that it had handled 3 million passengers in a twelve month period for the first time. Over the next year the passenger numbers increased to 3.8 million with many new UK and European routes commencing.

In March 2010, the airport was rebranded again as Bristol Airport.