Britain’s eighth busiest airport is getting a makeover, with the southern English hub undertaking a 150-metre runway extension. According to UK Aviation News, the move was revealed as a part of Bristol’s plan to boost passenger numbers to 15 million a year.
Not only will this improve efficiency, but it should also allow much larger aircraft to serve the airport. The extension brings the total runway length to 2,161 meters, up from the current 2011.
While currently Boeing 787s and A330s can fly there, their appearances are rare, and it’s hoped that the new extension will provide for more of these aircraft.
With larger aircraft, Bristol Airport is hoping to open routes to the U.S. and the Caribbean, which are typically offered from other U.K. regional airports by low-cost airline TUI.
The airport is also hoping to serve flights to Dubai and Doha, allowing passengers to connect on to much of Asia and Africa. This would be a similar style to Birmingham Airport, which currently has daily flights from both Emirates and Qatar Airways.
However, the news hasn’t only had the warmest reception it had hoped for, being met with a few protests from groups and pushback from the local council. This isn’t the only time the council attempted to stop the plans from going ahead, with the Government previously having had to step in to ensure that the extension could take place.
The airport also promises that the new plans will bring 1,000 extra jobs, and bring the indirect total to 37,000.
