Bristol Airport bosses are looking ahead to a year of solid growth this year as a raft of new destinations take passenger numbers back to their pre-pandemic levels.
The airport expects to handle around 9.9m passengers during 2023 – nudging its current capacity of 10m for the first time since 2019. 
That capacity could rise to 12m following the High Court’s recent decision to dismiss a legal challenge from environmental protestors against its expansion.
The first of the new routes – Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) inaugural service from the airport to Zurich – was officially launched earlier this month.
The airport, which has made the fastest recovery from the pandemic of any in the UK, is also to benefit from new destinations from its two biggest low-cost airlines Ryanair and easyJet while full-service German flag carrier Lufthansa is to increase frequency on its Frankfurt route.
EasyJet, the airport’s largest operator flying to just under 70 destinations, will bring in one new aircraft to Bristol next summer, taking its total to 17, and will introduce new routes to Chania, Crete, and Enfida-Hammamet in Tunisia.
Ryanair is to increase its Bristol-based fleet from four to five aircraft this summer, which will allow it to increase its route network from the airport to 33 with new services to Porto, Marseille, Bydgoszcz and Venice Marco Polo Airport.
The new Zurich route from SWISS, part of the Lufthansa group, provides business travellers with increased opportunity to trade in one of the world’s leading financial centres while opening the door to multiple long-haul connections for leisure travellers. 
Lufthansa Group Airlines Northern Europe senior director sales Heinrich Lange said: “SWISS is very pleased to add Bristol as our eighth airport in the UK, from where we offer direct flights to Zurich and beyond.
“Our initial timetable has primarily been designed to enable customers a convenient arrival into the Swiss Alps. From April onwards we are increasing our frequency and as of June we will operate three weekly flights Bristol-Zurich.
“Our new Bristol services offers convenient schedules between Bristol and Switzerland’s financial centre and an easy access to our global network of over 110 destinations.”
Bristol Airport head of airline relations Shaun Browne said the launch was an incredibly exciting day for Bristol Airport and the region.
“SWISS is a major global airline and this decision shows confidence in the region,” he added.
“The regular scheduled service between Bristol and Switzerland opens up a wide range of European and worldwide connections to our customers.
“Zurich is a great city whether for business or leisure and the link between the cities allows us to promote the South West and Wales region to inbound visitors from Switzerland and beyond.
“We see great potential for this service and are delighted SWISS have already confirmed they will be increasing the frequency to three flights a week in the summer and we will continue to work with SWISS on other exciting route opportunities for the future.”
The Zurich service is the third to the country from Bristol, with EasyJet flying to Geneva and Basle.
Pictured below ahead of the inaugural SWISS flight from Bristol to Zurich. Visit West managing director Kathryn Davis, Bristol Airport head of airline relations Shaun Browne and Lufthansa Group key account manager Susannah Rainsborough with SWISS aircrew
