A Brief History

In 1927 a flying club was inaugurated at Filton Aerodrome and by 1929 it had become a success and moved to Whitchurch near Bristol where a farm was developed into an airport. In 1930 Bristol Airport was opened becoming the third such airport in Britain.

During World War II, Bristol Airport was the only civil airport still in operation in the UK, when all flights usually bound for London were terminated in Bristol. BOAC was dispersed to Whitchurch from Croydon and Gatwick Airports and operated on routes to Lisbon, Portugal and to some other neutral nations

In 1955 a new airport was built at Lulsgate Bottom Airfield near Redhill. The new airport was called Bristol Lulsgate Airport and was opened in 1957 by the Duchess of Kent.

By 1980 17 charter airlines were operating from the airport and in 1984 major changes were made, with the addition of an international departure lounge, duty free shops, a 24-hour airside bar, an arrivals concourse, a short-term car park and more. A new terminal building was built in April 1999 and opened in March 2000 when passenger numbers exceeded two million for the first time.

Traffic

In 2002 Bristol was officially the fastest growing airport in the UK. In 2003 passenger numbers reached the highest ever, with a staggering 3.8 million passengers travelling through the airport and in 2005 the airport handled more than 84000 flights and 5.25 million passengers.

By 2030 Bristol Airport could expect a massive 12 million passengers.