Bristol Airport

Bristol is a convenient airport for my residence so like to use. It does annoy me that when dropping off or collecting family members I have to pay 1 pound just to drive through a barrier. There should be a "a free period" of say 15 or 20 minutes. This is a definite rip-off.

Long queues to baggage checks, my bag was taken aside, 5 mins later I attempt to ask why, no one seemed interested, peoples stuff been handled with no gloves, do you really want some potentially dirty hands on your toothbrush. I kept on asking him not to touch my stuff, he was splitting my toiletries into two tranparent bags (originally in one transparent bag - on my return in Cork they asked me why it was in two bags as it should be in one - not that they were any more pleasant). All staff at security were very unpleasant.

As a regular user of Bristol I can report that things have improved but there are still annoying points. The enlarged departures area means that there is always plenty of seating and more shops and places to eat - though the variety is disappointing. I have never really encountered the problems with queues for security that others report (usually less than 5 minutes) and staff seem to be as efficient and friendly as other airports. Queues for passport inspection however can be lengthy if several flights arrive together, the scanners work but are slow. There is still the very annoying experience of being forced to walk 400m to and from your aircraft when other gates near the terminal seem under utilised. The long stay car park is expensive, not particularly out of line with other airports in southern England, but it is poorly organised and the spaces are very tightly packed.

I have used this airport frequently over the last eight years and found the system to be as you would expect. No problems. A couple of days ago I flew easyJet to Bristol. While away I had damaged my back. I walk with the aid of a walking stick anyway due to arthritis. However this time the walking stick only gave me part support. I was in a great deal of discomfort upon arrival and as I was about to leave the airplane I asked the easyJet stewardess if it was possible to have wheelchair assistance. I couldn't believe how quickly things were organised and the care and treatment I received from the airport staff who deal with this service. They were marvellous. So, a heartfelt thanks to Bristol Airport operating such a service.

The security staff there seemed to delight in putting you through it, mostly youngish and a bit over the top. I could not believe how far it was from the departure lounge to our boarding gate. Although we gave ourselves plenty of time I think we only made it with 5/10 minutes to spare. The catering/refreshment facilities were ok but very overpriced in my view. This is the only airport I have been to where you are charged for a baggage trolley. Needless to say I will not be travelling through this airport again unless it is absolutely the only option available and would advise others to do the same.

Last time I was in Bristol there was a lot of building work. That was in Spring. When I got there this time the departures hall is new. Waiting on a flight for me is the opportunity to relax and the layout of Bristol offers that option.

When you land you have a rather large walk to immigration I didn't like that, once at immigration everything is fine. Check-in desks are easy to find security doesn't ussualy take too long , departure lounge is OK, there are many shops, lots of restaurants and bars, (even though they are quite expensive), gates are pretty easy to find. So quite a good airport. I would recomend it.

Dreaded using Bristol Airport after reading some of the reviews. Flew Ryanair on 4th December. Great flight and on time. Passport clearance by courteous staff without any long delays, luggage also came through reasonably quickly. Clear signs directing to car hire. Hertz staff fast and efficient. Flew out today 7th December. Good directions to return car, quickly sorted. Friendly and helpful Ryanair check in. Courteous and efficient security check, not held up for too long. Fast track security empty, not required. Good choice of snacks air side. Holiday essentials too. Clean toilets. Small wait time after being called to go to gate due to slight delay in flight. Great flight back. Would I use Bristol again? Well yes, absolutely.

I have travelled via Bristol Airport many times in the last 10 years or so and each time it gets a little bit worse. Despite attempts to upgrade the facilities, these are woefully inadequate for the passenger numbers with overcrowding and 'kettling' of passengers in both arrival and departure areas. Security is the most stringent of any UK airport and is staffed by unfriendly automatons seemingly devoid of any humanity. You must pay £1 for a plastic bag (you cannot use your own) to take a limited number of liquid items in your hand luggage. However you can return from any overseas destination without a plastic bag or any liquid restrictions. When you arrive in departures the choice of food and drink is limited and expensive. For some inexplicable reason Butcombe Ale is always unavailable - such a shame given the brewery is literally just down the road. Last weekend we arrived back in the UK late on Sunday night in sub zero temperatures only to queue outside a building for 10 minutes before being herded through the cattle gates at passport control. Heaven help you if you are old or infirm. On entering passport control three lanes were in operation with only the left one going to the automated passport control with little or no delay. Taking the other two lanes meant a 30 minute wait for manual processing. No signs indicates which lane should be used and you had to use the lane indicated by a staff member. Transport facilities and customer service in the UK have improved a lot in the last decade or so. Unfortunately Bristol Airport has not kept up and is sliding backwards. I dread to think what impression first time visitors to the UK must receive on arrival, as it feels to me (a UK citizen) that I am entering an oppressive totalitarian state. Bristol Airport does not represent a warm welcome to Bristol and the West Country.

Really disappointed with Bristol "international airport", overinflated prices on food and drinks, ridiculously long queues to go through security. You need to give yourself at least 2 hours to be sure you dont miss your plane, the walk to gates is horrendous at least 1/4 of a mile, no moving escalators so up and down steps with cases and pushchairs travelling with young toddlers was a nightmare. Then you are held in a holding room by the tarmac, we stood for nearly 3/4 of an hour with no seating, eventually we were herded across the tarmac in the pouring rain and all got completely soaked as people queued to go up the aircraft steps. The return arrival was just as bad, the same ridiculously epic hike with cases etc from tarmac to passport control, where you are met with another massive queue, it took us longer to get through security and collect baggage than it did for our flight back from Spain. Then we had to fight our way through an angry queue of people trying to get Taxis, you couldn't even get into the Taxi office as it was packed, we had pre-booked our taxi, so went to taxi queue to be told we had to report to the office and collect a ticket first. At this point I could of screamed with frustration, the whole holiday was blighted by our experience of flying in and out of Bristol, I would never recommend this airport.