November 27th 2024.
It seems like long-haul flights may soon be making a comeback at a popular city airport. After over a decade without them, the airport is planning to reintroduce flights to the Middle East and the US. The last permanent long-haul route from this airport was a daily service to New York, which ended in 2010 due to the global financial crisis. However, things are looking up as the airport has big plans for its future.
As part of its master plan for 2040, the airport aims to increase its annual passenger allowance by improving its facilities and offering a wider range of flight options. While TUI has been operating long-haul routes to destinations such as Cancun and Orlando since 2017, they recently announced the removal of their long-haul operations for the summers of 2024 and 2025. Currently, the airport relies on connections through European hubs to reach far-flung destinations.
To accommodate the increase in passengers, the airport is proposing a larger terminal building, improved onsite facilities including retail and catering, a new hotel, a longer runway for long-haul aircraft, more parking, and better transportation options. On average, 10 million passengers use this airport every year, and it is currently capped at 12 million. However, the goal is to expand to 15 million passengers by 2036. This would result in an increase in aircraft movements from 85,990 to 100,000 per year, with 35 extra movements on a particularly busy day.
While the airport will continue to have night flying restrictions, they are proposing to increase night flights by 1,000, which is an average of four per night during peak periods. This future development is expected to create over 37,000 jobs in the South West and South Wales, including 1,000 jobs at the airport. The airport plans to submit a planning application to the North Somerset Council next year.
According to Chief Executive Dave Lees, the airport is constantly monitoring trends in air travel and has noticed a surprising resurgence in people's desire to fly, even after the pandemic. He believes that this will inform their plans for the coming years. He also welcomes input from the public to help shape their plans.
Currently, the airport is investing over £400 million to improve the customer experience and reduce carbon emissions. Mr. Lees acknowledges that there may be concerns about the airport's growth and its impact on the environment. However, he reassures that their plans for responsible growth are within the UK's current carbon budgets, with the goal to achieve net-zero airport operations by 2030. The airport is also committed to working with regional partners on aviation decarbonisation.
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