Bristol Airport

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.