Passenger numbers at Bristol Airport rose for the second successive year in 2011 despite challenging economic conditions. The rise was modest – just 0.8% to a total of 5.7m. Overall the airport continued to grow its market share within the region while maintaining its ranking as the UK's fifth largest airport outside London. It is also forecasting further growth this year.
High points included a record September which saw 610,000 people pass through the terminal. December also saw a significant 8.8% gain over the same month in 2010, driven by a double digit increase (10.8%) in scheduled international traffic.
New airlines in 2011 included Blue Islands (to Jersey) and Helvetic Airways (to Zurich). Aer Lingus also launched three daily flights to Dublin, with onward connections to four US destinations while KLM added a fourth daily flight to its Amsterdam hub.
Significantly, the rise in passengers at Bristol Airport was achieved with fewer flights. The total number of air transport movements was down by 4.1% – a decrease of almost 3,000, indicating that airlines are operating with high load factors on larger aircraft and thus maximising environmental efficiency.
Airport aviation director Shaun Browne said: “Despite challenging conditions in the aviation sector and the wider economy, Bristol maintained its position as the UK’s fifth largest airport outside London. We saw signs of recovery in the business travel market, and tour operators and airlines continued to offer great value flight and holiday options. We expect these trends to continue throughout 2012, and forecast a third successive year of growth.”
“Our key targets remain securing services to Germany and Scandinavia, and we will continue making the business case for these vital links in our discussions with existing and potential airline partners.”
Work began on the construction of three new aircraft stands in November – the first phase of development plans which, when completed, will enable the airport to handle 10m passengers annually. Additional capacity is also being added to the security search area ahead of the summer season to ensure the efficiency of this vital process is maintained during peak travel periods.
