Bristol Airport Passenger Reviews and Bristol Airport Customer opinions

I live in Bristol and my husband and I travel a lot. Yesterday, I dropped my husband off at the 'drop off zone' only to find that we now have to pay £1 for the privilege. The sign at the entrance doesn't tell you, you have to pay it simply says something like the area is operated by barriers. Bristol airport, please take note that in other airports in other parts of the world you can drop off for free, baggage carts are free, wifi is free and there are even showers.

I wonder if Bristol airport management fully appreciate the contempt that I and many other passengers have felt after using them for the first (and definitely last) time. They charge £2 un-refundable for a trolley. The £2 becomes a tax on being elderly or disabled and that for me encapsulates everything about Bristol airport. I had to pay £1 to get my rental car out of the forecourt and another £1 to get back in. I don't think I am fussy, I just don't like being taken for the sort of idiot who will pay for a scam and come again.

I refuse to use Bristol airport any more - unless I have absolutely no alternative. I used to fly out of there and route through Amsterdam but I now prefer to travel to Heathrow, and I fly very frequently. There are numerous areas of concern but I think that the award for the rudest security staff has found it's home here. Other than that, expensive parking, lack of seating, bussing (or walking forever) to get on a plane and the fact that just can't cope with their own expansion is more than enough to say here. One of the worst airports I have ever used.

Drop Off fee outrageous. It used to be so easy. Staff friendly apart from the amazingly unhelpful security (twice experienced this now). With 2 young children by myself, I was given no help. I caused long queues behind me as they wanted all shoes off all of us, everything explored, pushchair and material baby rucksack, bag, tested toothpaste's, calpol. Only curt rudeness shown to me all of this time. On returning, got help from fellow passengers for all the stairs who routinely see those with children having problems with no staff helping out. This does not happen at other regional UK airports (friendly and helpful staff - even at the higher security risk airports). Makes me ashamed of my local airport.

Drop off fee of £1 - this may well be discriminatory for people with a disability/mobility problem - what other choice do you have than to pay? My husband was told to remove his shoes at security, he was not provided with nor offered a seat to do this - despite walking with obvious difficulty and using a walking stick. A female member of staff treated us with total disregard and lack of respect - she prevented me from going back through the scanner to assist my husband. When I approached a Manger, he apologised, said he would look in to it, and told us my husband should not have been asked to remove his shoes in an area without seating. Went to food service area - tables not cleared of prior occupants' debris. Then we were faced with appallingly long queues at boarding areas - so bad, that we couldn't get out of lift without a struggle to get through crowds. Would not use this airport again through choice.

Some complaints are being addressed, others persist. Leaving late morning was fairly comfortable - short queues and plenty of seating; arriving early evening likewise (passport readers were working, for the first time in my experience). There is still the very long walk to the western departure gates that many have mentioned and why was our aircraft parked remotely, with passengers bussed to the terminal, when there were half a dozen unoccupied parking spots next to the terminal? The long stay car park is convenient (2 minutes walk from the terminal) though expensive.

Although not happy with the pound charge to drop off and pick up it is far better than the rip off charge levied at Bournemouth. I visit the UK around 6 times a years and have boycotted Bournemouth following their robbery. Here in Tenerife at our local airport, parking for a pick up is free for the first 30 minutes. After that the charges are very low. It actually encourages rather than deters the customers. Most folks working there are polite but sadly there are still a few rude, nasty and ill mannered among them.

Bristol airport is a joke, only not a funny one. From the moment you arrive you are ripped off for a drop off tax, then there is the walk and god help you if you have small children pushchairs and hand luggage. After the hike to the boarding gate you are faced with a flight of stairs, no lift or ramp available in what is supposed to be state of the art new extension. Landing is even worst with small children and pushchairs/hand luggage, again your faced with a flight of stairs and after a long walk you have a choice to take a lift which holds 4 people or drag everything down the stairs. This is a truly terrible airport for families.

I have just returned from a trip to Malaga with my 2 young children. On departure my gate was miles away down long corridors and when I eventually got to the gate I was met with stairs which I had to try and get my pushchair down with my 3 and 6 year old plus baggage. No ramp or lift to help me. Thankfully I had the help of another passenger. On my way back, passengers disembarked onto the runway at around midnight, we then had to walk to the terminal where once again more stairs greeted me without any ramp or lift. Not recommended.

Difficult to travel to once off the motorway. The £1 to pay to drop off is outrageous and worst of all the security need to be taught some manners. How can you expect youngsters to be polite when you have such rude security staff?

I have just missed my flight, not realising this airport doesn't bother to announce boarding on all departures and that even if you arrive at the gate 15 minutes before the flight leaves, the carrier can refuse to take you. I have flown from this airport for over 20 years and confirm what many other people say - that when it was small it was great, but as it has grown it has got worse and worse, with an enormous duty free area which serves as a passageway to the departure lounge and lots of other shops which have reduced the seats so much that you often have to buy a drink to find one. Ridiculously long walk to departure gates 12-16. Overall you'd think with all the money they're making they could afford a travelator.

All of the unaware beware, the car parking charges and all the other fees they charge here are an absolute rip off - with quite a few budget carriers their fares being less than three days parking. Even on a quite day the facilities are poor (who would have a notice up bragging that the hike to your gate is only X hundred metres?). The only reason I use the place is its location about 20 minutes door to door at 05.30 in the morning. Other than that its a place to avoid at all costs.

Check-in and security was quick. Sunday evenings seem to be quiet. Drop off and car parking is a scandal. But by far the worst problem at Bristol, is the long and bizarre walk to gate 11 and other new gates. We stood in a long wraparound style queue while we waited for our easyjet flight to disembark and prepare for us to embark (30 mins). There are no seats or toilets whatsoever in this small grey room. Easyjet staff are clearly up against it as they try to move us from one queue wrapping up and around a narrow staircase, to another queue while cramming us in to this miserable room. Of all the airports I've been to in the world, this was a new experience in shitty treatment. Previously a pleasant airport, not any more.

As a regular traveller through this airport I can but agree with the many negative comments on this website. I requested that a simple chair be provided before the x-ray arch so my shoes can be removed. I have a medical balance problem and standing and/or hopping on one leg is not possible. This results in me having to have a full body "pat down" every time I travel. It is embarrassing and causes unnecessary delay to other passengers. I wrote to the airport management making this request and received a reply saying this would be done immediately and that "security" had been informed. I travel, on average every 2/3 weeks. Security staff are at best surly and unpleasant. The number of toilets in the main lounge are inadequate for the number of passengers. The recently introduced charges for my taxi using the "drop off" area and non-refundable baggage carts is yet more money grabbing wheezes at an airports whose charges are already amongst the highest in Europe.

After using Bristol Airport for a number of years, I would never entertain using Bristol Airport again. Recently, when I got off the plane, we walked over the tarmac to building entrance, to be greeted by a large number of steps. There were two phones and two seats at the entrance, but no notice or forewarning about the long walk - approximately half a mile - to get to passport control.

No relation to the A Matthews who reviewed below. I was hoping for things to have improved since I last used the airport about 4 times last year. Not a chance. My first gripe is the outrageous car parking charges. £38 for a long weekend in midwinter is a bit over the top. Secondly, charging for a trolley is profiteering. Why doesn't the government do something about organisations ripping off captive customers. Thirdly, in an attempt to lure passengers into buying something from the shops after going through security, the owners have reduced to a minimum the area available to actually sit somewhere whilst waiting for your flight. Finally, big queues for immigration. Why isn't this facility given a bigger room and more border control staff? Come on Bristol. I'm even considering travelling up the M4 to Heathrow now. You are getting no better.

I used to use Bristol airport 15 times a year before the re-vamp of the terminal with the duty free shop and western walkway - I now avoid it at all costs now it is so user unfriendly. The duty free shop is oversized, there is simply no logic to the flow of passengers and, dependent upon the gate allocated to you, you may or may not be waiting on the right floor. If you are unfortunate to be using gates 14/15 be prepared for a very long and uncomfortable walk without travelators or escalators to negotiate the long distances and multiple steps and stairs. Arriving at these gates is equally unpleasant. Bristol has lost what it once had going for it when it was worth paying the overpriced car parking charges and baggage trolleys. There's simply no competition.

I used to use Bristol for around 6-8 return trips every year. This airport used to be a joy to use. My last 3 trips within the last 6 months have been awful. All the in-bounds took forever walking for miles, then ages at passport control and finally over an hour to get suitcases that you can only put on over-priced trolleys. The outbound experiences differ. The first one involved a lengthy queue for passport control in the early hours of the morning. This spread all the way down the stairs into the main check-in area. After security I had to run to my gate whilst other people missed flights. The second time I was taking my daughter to Majorca and did not have any change for the chargeable drop off point. I had to get my partner to drop me off in the road. A 'jobs-worth' came up behind us in his 4x4 beeping and shouting and told us not to stop. Unfortunately the only way was to grab our suitcases from the car. On the way back my partner made sure he had some change but made a mistake of waiting up the road and watching our plane come in before he came to pick us up. It cost him £4.00 to get us out of the airport. Bristol Airport cannot cope with more than 4 flights in a day. I certainly will not be using this airport again if I can help it.

Why do they no longer offer a safe drop off facility? Instead you have to enter the short stay car park and pay £1 for the privilege! There are no signs to warn you that you will have to pay just to drop off before you enter. Several people who had obviously been stung by this before, were dropping people off on the road, the mini roundabout before the short stay car park, the small junction at the exit to the short stay and even one family - on the main junction with the A38 at the entrance to the site. This is greed gone mad - dropping off is not parking. With no safe, free drop off area its only a matter of time before there is an accident.

Bristol is my local airport and at last I feel I can say something positive about it. On departing this week it took 5 minutes from locking my car to sitting in the departure lounge, I had pre-printed my boarding card but there were no queues and staff were cheerful. I also think they have increased the seating since my last visit, there was plenty free. On arriving we were bussed to immigration, but again no queue and I was driving out of the car park 20 minutes after landing. It was my best experience here for many years, however, there was still an absurdly early call to the gate - a 300 metre walk followed by 20 minutes standing staring at four grey walls. My flight left late morning when about 5 departures are scheduled in two hours and we arrived just ahead of the evening rush. It is clear that there are far fewer flights using Bristol this winter than in the summer or previous winters and at these traffic levels it copes well and is pleasant. I wonder what it is like leaving at 07.00 or arriving at 22.00 though, I suspect some of the problems persist.

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