A consultation on plans to transform and expand Bristol Airport so that it can accommodate 15m passengers a year travelling to more destinations than ever is coming to an end this weekend.
The airport previously revealed five destinations across the United States and the Middle East – New York, Orlando, Doha, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi – that it is hoping to connect with via direct flights should its expansion plans be approved.
Last month the airport submitted its formal planning application for the next stage of its expansion, which encompasses the new routes.
The airport currently serves 10.8m passengers annually making it the eighth-busiest in the UK.
It already holds permission to expand its facilities to handle up to 12m passengers per year. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.
However, rather than a straightforward expansion, Bristol Airport’s most recent planning application submitted to North Somerset Council comprises nearly 500 documents, some of which individually run to hundreds of pages.
Of its plans the airport said: “We’ve submitted a planning application to further develop the airport.
“It would enable you to visit more destinations, including world cities within Europe and beyond with a limited number of new longer-haul flights to North America, Middle East, with connections to Asia.
“Plans include a transformed customer experience which will see travelators, more space in the terminal, and a wider choice of shops and restaurants.
“The plans would see an additional 1,000 on-site local jobs.”
The proposals incorporate “runway and taxiway improvements” including modifications to approach lights to accommodate larger aircraft enabling the region to be connected directly with far more distant destinations.
Of the proposals to increase the current passenger cap from 12m travellers per year to 15m passengers the airport anticipates reaching that figure by the late 2030s.
Annual aircraft movements would increase from 85,990 to 100,000 in the long term to meet rising demand for air travel.
On a particularly busy peak day this would equate to 35 extra aircraft movements.
While restrictions on night flying would be maintained the airport is proposing to increase night flights by 1,000 per year – an average of four nightly during peak season busy periods.
The latest consultation period closes on Sunday, June 28.