Bristol Airport breaks its monthly passenger record
Image courtesy Bristol Airport
Since June of this year, one of the main airline operators, easyJet, has added an extra Airbus A320 Neo aircraft to the fleet that is based at the Airport, meaning more than half of their aircraft are now A320 Neos.
The Airbus A320 Neo is up to 50% quieter and uses 20% less fuel than the generation of aircraft it replaces, as easyJet continues to modernise its fleet with more fuel-efficient aircraft.
Tui and Ryanair also operate the more fuel-efficient and quieter Boeing 737 Max aircraft, with Ryanair also increasing the number that are based at Bristol Airport. It means that almost 50% of all aircrafts based at Bristol are either Max or Neo aircrafts with more expected in the coming years.
Dave Lees, Chief Executive at Bristol Airport, said: “We’re really pleased that millions of people want to fly from their local airport. Not only is it convenient for annual summer holidays and connecting with family and friends but we’re also offering a wide choice of destinations that appeal.
“As passenger numbers grow, we’ve taken on more staff and this summer employed a record number with over 5,800 employees working in a range of roles including retail, engineering, operations and sustainability. And 70% of our workforce live within a 20-mile radius and benefit from free staff travel on the A1 and A3 Flyer and the A4 Air Decker.”
In August the A1 Flyer bus saw more than 109,000 customers and staff use the service from Bristol Temple Meads and more than 19,000 use the A3 Flyer service from Weston-super-Mare. Also during the month the A3 celebrated its busiest month to date with a 30% increase in use compared to last year. Staff can travel for free to work on the A1, A3 and now the A4 Air Decker, all of which have dedicated bus bays in the new £60 million Public Transport Interchange that opened in July.
This summer also marked the launch of two new airlines, with Pegasus and Edelweiss operating routes to Istanbul in Turkey and Zurich in Switzerland, along with new routes to Palermo in Sicily and Almeria in Spain with easyJet, Kalamata in Greece with Jet2.com and Toulouse in France with Ryanair.
The most popular destinations included Palma in Majorca, Alicante in Spain, Faro in Portugal and Malaga in Spain with top city breaks to Dublin, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Barcelona and Glasgow.
