Council to consider Bristol Airport expansion

Officials from North Somerset Council are today reviewing details of an ambitious plan to increase capacity at Bristol International Airport.

The radical proposals - which involve doubling the overall floor size of the terminal - would create 4,000 jobs and pump £340 million into the local economy.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, Bristol International currently handles six million travellers per year and is already the ninth busiest airport in Britain.

Under the new scheme that figure would rise to ten million by 2016, with extra car parking spaces and aircraft stands being built to accommodate the growth.

Outlining the plans, airport Chief Executive Robert Sinclair stressed the economic benefits but also sought to reassure councillors about environmental concerns.

"In response to requests from the local community, the airport has introduced a new cap on night flights, as well as maintaining the current night noise quota," he noted.

"The airport will also commit to maintaining CO2 emissions at or below 2007 levels, with 20 per cent of the additional energy required by the proposed development coming from on-site renewable sources."

Mr Sinclair concluded: "Delaying or doing nothing risks putting the region to the back of the queue for inward investment and providing a poor service to passengers."

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