Bristol Airport Statistics

Bristol Airport serves as the main international airport for Southwest England and is the eighth busiest in the UK, providing vital connectivity for the South West region including Somerset, Devon, Gloucestershire and South Wales.

Bristol Airport handles over 10 million passengers annually, reflecting consistent growth and its status as one of the UK’s fastest-growing regional airports.

• The airport processed 10.83 million passengers in 2025, a 2.1% increase from 10.61 million in 2024, making it the busiest year on record.
• Before the pandemic, passenger numbers reached 8.96 million in 2019, which was then a record high.
• In 2020, traffic dropped 75.5% to 2.19 million, one of the steepest declines among UK airports due to COVID-19.
• Passenger numbers fell slightly to 2.09 million in 2021, followed by a sharp rebound to 7.95 million in 2022 and 9.91 million in 2023, with Bristol recovering faster than any other major UK airport.

Bristol Airport sees over 70,000 aircraft movements annually, reflecting steady network and frequency growth.

• The airport recorded 78,084 aircraft movements in 2025, a 0.6% decrease from 78,554 in 2024.
• Aircraft operations reached 69,434 in 2019 following a steady decline from the 2017 peak of 76,199 before falling further during the pandemic.
• Movements dropped to 29,191 in 2020 and rose slightly to 32,278 in 2021, a 57.9% decline from pre-pandemic levels.
• Recovery accelerated with 56,391 movements in 2022 and 68,718 in 2023, showing sustained growth.

Bristol Airport sees its highest passenger volumes from May to October, with over 1 million travelers each month during this period in 2025.

• August was the busiest month with 1.22 million passengers in 2025.
• This was followed by July (1.16 million), September (1.09 million) and June (1.08 million).
• The lowest traffic was recorded in January (560,729) and November (616,807), reflecting off-peak travel patterns.

Domestic Destinations

• Edinburgh carried 436,271 passengers in 2025, making it the busiest domestic route.
• Glasgow served 295,945 passengers, maintaining its position as the second-busiest domestic route.
• Belfast International handled 247,178 passengers, establishing it as the third-busiest domestic destination.
• Newcastle processed 160,939 passengers, and Inverness completed the top five with 92,472 passengers.

Cargo volumes at Bristol Airport remain low, typical for short-haul, low-cost passenger hubs.

• The airport handled 43 tonnes of cargo in 2025, a massive leap up from 3 tonnes in 2024 and 2 tonnes in 2023.
• Cargo operations peaked at 16 tonnes in 2020, driven by pandemic-related shipments, then dropped to 3 tonnes in 2021 and hit a low of 1 tonne in 2022 before showing slight recovery.
• In 2019, cargo volumes totaled 11 tonnes.

• During the first half of 2025, Bristol Airport (BRS) recorded average flight delays of 22.4 minutes, placing it among the UK’s lowest-performing airports for on-time departures.

Bristol Airport Limited demonstrates strong financial performance with steady revenue growth, enabling significant infrastructure investment.

• Revenue reached £203.8 million in 2024, showing strong financial recovery and exceeding all previous records.
• Pre-pandemic revenue peaked at £127.4 million in 2019, establishing the baseline for recovery measurement.
• The COVID-19 pandemic caused revenue to collapse to £38.6 million in 2020, representing a 70% decline from 2019 levels.
• In 2021, the figure slightly increased to £42.1 million.
• Full recovery began in 2022 with £139.4 million revenue, already exceeding pre-pandemic levels before the £178.5 million recorded in 2023.

• 4 Mar 2024: TUI Flight 6114 (G-FDZS) narrowly cleared the A38 during takeoff after an autothrottle fault.
• 22 Dec 2017: BMI Embraer ERJ145 (G-CKAG) exited runway due to parking brake error, causing diversions.
• 3 Oct 2010: Thomson Airways 767 (G-OOBK) landed heavily during poor weather, no injuries reported.
• 15 Sep 2006: easyJet A319 (G-EZAC) suffered electrical failure and nearly collided mid-air with an American Airlines 777, but landed safely.
• 19 Jan 1970: Cambrian Airways Viscount (G-AMOA) was damaged beyond repair after a hard landing.