WORK has officially begun on a major expansion project at a regional airport in the UK.
Airport has started its £30million upgrade with a new two-floor extension to connect the existing terminal and the departure gates.
Bristol Airport has started work on its £30million upgradeCredit: Farrans
The airport upgrade will include 17 new shops and including premium brands and a hidden speakeasy bar in the terminal.
Overall floor space at the airport will nearly double (45 per cent increase) as well.
In the newly created floor space, there will be more seating as well as the new ‘island’ shops, meaning shops will not just be at the edges of the terminal.
When it comes to arrivals, there will be a new reclaim area with an additional baggage carousel.
When it comes to accessibility, the assisted travel lounge will double in size with new tables.
It will be located near the middle of the departure lounge and also have accessible toilets and a changing places facility.
A baby feeding room will be added as well.
Accessibility will be improved to the immigration area too, with new stairs and lifts.
The transformation to the airport is set to take place over the next three years and is part of a wider £400million investment plan to transform passenger experience at the airport.
By the end of it, the airport will be able to cater for up to 12million passengers, up from 10million currently.
The airport already has completed a number of improvements as well, such as “next generation security” and a new Public Transport Interchange with bus stops, bus bays, a car park and a larger M&S supermarket.
The departure lounge also has a new executive lounge called Escape.
Andrew Goodenough, Infrastructure Director at Airport said: “We have ambitious plans to transform our customer experience over the next couple of years, and we really appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding while all of these massive improvements are taking place.”
There will be 17 new shops as well as a ‘hidden speakeasy bar’Credit: Farrans
Gerard McNamee, Project Manager at Farrans – the building and engineering firm carrying out the works at the airport – said: “This is an exciting project which will be completed in a live environment in which all passenger routes need to remain open at all times.”
Last year, the airport announced how as part of its upgrade, it hopes to offer flights to the east coast of and the Middle East in the future.
The airport is also planning to increase the number of flights from 85,990 per year to 100,000, which would mean an additional 35 flights per day in the peak season.
While the airport is planning to keep its night restrictions, it does want to increase night flights to 1,000 a year, which would mean four per night in the peak season.
In other airport news, a thanks to huge expansion plans.
Plus, – with a regional airport coming in number one.
The project is expected to take three years to completeCredit: Farrans
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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