Bristol Airport

We arrived expecting horrendous queues at passport control because of the Government workers strike but every desk was manned and people were smiling. We were bussed from the aircraft which made a huge difference to my experience I am not disabled but can only walk about 100metres without discomfort and can't stand up for very long. The officer even had a joke with me and the wait for luggage was reasonable however I think we were the only plane offloading. But once again my sister had to pay to pick us up. The return during the day was relatively painless check in (as usual with easyJet ) no problem security staff friendly the departures hall was very quiet so I was able to find a place to sit but I do hate that gaudy over-lit duty free shop just after security. We left from gate 1 so there were no endless corridors as in the last trip. But again my brother had to pay to drop us off. This is why I've marked it down again this year as I hate penny pinching and charging even a small amount for pick up and drop off is very mean.

The airport provides a free drop off point but it is half a kilometre from the terminal building. You can park for just 10 mins before a £4 fee kicks in. Otherwise dropping off (closer to the terminal building) for just one minute costs £1 (21mins to 30 mins costs £4). The terminal building has a long frontage which is for buses and taxis only - private cars cannot stop anywhere for free - other than as mentioned above. This is a cynical exercise in the exploitation of a captive audience. Regulatory authorities should act quickly to re-instate free drop-off parking (if only for 5 mins) close to the departure area.

At Bristol you are now unable to drop a person off without it costing £1. The walk to the departure gates especially the furthest gate is completely unacceptable. You will spend an age trying to get to passport control if more than 1 flight lands even queuing on stairs to find the new passport chip machines don't work. And I'm told on good authority that there isn't enough seating by far because people spend money if they cant sit down.

This is a handy local airport. There are sufficient shops and its always clean. Have found security fast and the airport itself is easy to get around. An added bonus it has a smoking area once you are through security. As a resident of the south west its usually the most economical and best airport for me to fly from.

I've used Bristol Airport for many years and have never found cause for serious complaints. My wife and I recently flew from the airport at Saturday lunchtime a very busy period in summer. We paid £29.99 for 8 day's parking in the long stay admittedly a promotional offer but open to anyone. We were through security in 3 or 4 mins (about six or seven security stations open) and found strolling to the far end of the western walkway no problem at all and we are both in our late sixties. Before that we enjoyed an inexpensive lunch and wine (admittedly again on promotional offers open to anyone) at one of the eateries. We returned a week later on a Saturday at teatime and were one of six international flights 150-seat plus sized aircraft to have landed in a twenty minute period. Everyone to whom we spoke was polite which is our usual experience at Bristol (with the very occasional exception down the years) perhaps because we are always polite to them and try to co-operate with all requests. We were driving out of the car park within thirty minutes of our landing wheels touching the runway. Bristol is an excellent facility with an extensive range of UK European and North African destinations. Looking forward to the major expansion which will double the size of the terminal.

It has got worse and worse. Undermanned security. Extended shopping and reduced seating (200+ people forced to stand on my last visit). Last minute calls to the Gates which are a mile away with no escalators or travelators. Safety hazards caused by enormous queues on staircases. Extortionate pickup car park. All in all a thoroughly lousy experience!

I do everything I can not to fly from Bristol Airport. I'd much rather go to Heathrow despite it being further away and much bigger and busier. I find the staff at Bristol off-hand and offensive transport links woefully inadequate parking extortionate and facilities poor. You no longer even get through immigration quickly as the last couple of times I've been there the queues have been long and slow-moving.

Arrived at BRS from TFS and couldn't believe the hike from aircraft to Immigration/Baggage. It's not even a level walk with stairs/escalators/lifts all playing their part. Immigration relatively painless but it took 33 minutes for any bag to appear onto the belt and 45 minutes for mine. Very quick to get from Customs to the bus to the city centre but they need to get their act together re baggage and walking distances.

Pouring rain and the usual long haul trek from the apron to the baggage claim area even the nearest new gate is a good 250 metres hike. Passport control is more like entering a third airport and why are they so chummy taking the piss really. Baggage as usual you wait an age. The on site car park is a rip off for what is really a rubble strewn bit of ground prepay ticket would not operate exit barrier (but they took money on booking though). Overall a place to avoid if at all possible.

Arrivals was swift and seamless but departures is a completely different story. It's a fairly inoffensive place before you go through security and it's here that the ordeal really begins. We travelled in the afternoon and the security screening struck me as a pretty stressful affair with too many screening desks crammed into too small a space. This lack of space didn't afford any opportunity to get yourself together after going through security and passengers are immediately greeted by the duty free shop once screened. The experience is all about shopping to the detriment of facilitating a smooth transition through the airport and towards your gate. The area beyond the duty free shop is occupied by more shops and both space and seating is limited unless you're willing to fork out money in one of the many restaurants and coffee shops that come with ample seating. Most frustratingly of all the gates aren't announced until the last minute so there is no alternative but to wait in this money trap. Progression towards your flight involves a lot of queuing down corridors up stairs down stairs and down more corridors. I would hate to be a disabled passenger travelling through Bristol Airport.