History
In 1927 a group of local businessmen raised £6,000 through public subscription to start a flying club at Filton Aerodrome. 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, Prince George, son of King George V opened Bristol (Whitchurch) 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’s Whitchurch 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 difficult, because of the proximity of housing estates. Consequently, a decision was taken to develop a new airport on the site at Lulsgate Bottom Airfield. Sold to the Bristol Corporation in 1955 for £55,000, the gliding club moved to Nympsfield.
The new airport was called Bristol Lulsgate Airport, and was opened in 1957 by Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent. All of the Whitchurch airline operations and the Bristol and Wessex Aeroplane Club moved there, which in its first year was used by 33,000 people. 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 Public limited company. 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 March 1997 the airport’s name was changed to Bristol International Airport, and in December 1997 51% of the airport company was sold to FirstGroup plc, while the remaining 49% was retained by 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 purchased 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.
Macquarie’s stake was spun off as part of MAp Airports in 2009.
The terminal building does not yet have jetways, so all aircraft park on the apron and passengers either walk out to their flights, or are carried by bus.
Having created plans for an extension, 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. 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. Plans for the expansion of the airport have been now completed and are to be submitted to the council for approval in summer 2008.
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 early 2008, an opposition to the Stop Bristol Airport Expansion campaign was launched to support the expansion and operations of the airport. Named BISON – Bristol International Supporters Group – it is targeted at the travelling public.