Bristol International Airport
Bristol International Airport is the main commerical airport serving Bristol and its surrounding lands in England, UK.
History
In 1927 a group of local businessmen raised £6,000 through public subscriptions to inaugurate a flying club at Filton Aerodrome. By 1929 the club had become a huge success and it was decided that a farm located in Whitchurch near Bristol would be developed into an airport. In 1930, HRH Prince George opened Bristol Airport - becoming the third such airport in all of Britain. Over the next few years, passenger numbers slowly grew from 935 in 1930 to over 4,000 in 1939. During WWII, Bristol Airport was the only civil airport still in operation in the UK, meaning all flights usually bound for London were terminated in Bristol.
In 1955 a new airport was built at Lulsgate Bottom Airfield - an RAF base. The new airport was called Bristol Lulsgate Airport. The new airport was opened in 1957 by the Duchess of Kent. In its first year some 33,000 people used the airport. In 1963 the runway was lengthened and in 1965 extensions were made to the terminal - all due to rapid expansion. In 1968 a new 5,000 square foot building was constructed - again as the airport expanded. The airline "Court Line" collapsed, causing a fall in passenger numbers.
By 1980 Bristol Airport had 17 charter airlines operating from it. In 1984 huge changes were made to the airport, 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 much more. On the 1 April 1987 all employees were transferred from Bristol City Council to Bristol Airport plc. The operation and net assets of Bristol Airport were transferred from the City of Bristol and the company commenced trading. Over the next few years business boomed with over 100,000 passengers each month in the summer of 1988.
In 1996 Bristol Airport was put up for sale by Bristol City Council. In March 1997 the name was changed from Bristol Airport to Bristol International. In December 1997 51% of the airport was sold to FirstGroup, while the remaining 49% still belonged to Bristol City Council. A new terminal building was built in April 1999 and opened in March 2000. In 2000, passenger numbers exceeded two million for the first time. The airport was bought out by Macquarie Bank and Cintra in January 2001 for £198m. Passenger numbers broke the three million mark in 2002, largely due to the arrival of the low-cost carrier Go. Continued expansion by Easyjet and Ryanair lead to another increase in passengers - to 3.8 million.
See also
