Here are the recent changes at Bristol Airport that affect how you travel, from new routes and price changes to construction and security rules. This page was last updated in August 2026. It covers what has changed, not today's live status.
Checking live delays and departures today
For today's delays, cancellations and live departure boards, check the official Bristol Airport website and your airline app, or a flight tracker such as Flightradar24. This page tracks the changes that stick, not minute-by-minute status.
Travel alerts and recent disruption
- 7 to 8 Aug 2026 Bristol Airport suspended all flights from about 18:00 BST on Friday 7 August 2026 after engineers found a runway defect. The runway stayed shut overnight and reopened at 08:00 BST on Saturday 8 August, leaving backlog delays of several hours plus a number of cancellations and diversions (one inbound flight from Rhodes was diverted to Newcastle). Airlines including easyJet, Ryanair, Jet2, TUI and KLM were affected. (source) (source)
Parking, drop-off and fare price changes
- 5 Jan 2026 Bristol Airport raised its "Drop Off & Pick Up" tariff from £7 to £8.50 for a 10-minute stay. "Short Stay" also rose from £7 to £8.50 for 15 minutes and from £9 to £10.50 for 15 to 30 minutes. The airport said the rises follow the Chancellor's budget, which will more than double its business rates to now its single largest non-operational cost. Free longer waiting remains available in the more distant Silver Zone/off-airport option. (source) (source)
Construction / terminal and transport works
- Jul 2026 Bristol Airport is midway through a multi-year redevelopment, investing more than £60m to expand and upgrade its departures and arrivals areas and nearly double the number of shops and restaurants; total employment on site has reached around 5,800 jobs. (source) (source)
- Jan 2026 A fleet of 21 new electric buses is being rolled out on the A1 (Bristol) and A3 (Weston-super-Mare) Airport Flyer services; a new service will connect North Somerset towns including Nailsea and Backwell; and a daily Plymouth coach route started on Monday 12 January 2026. (source)
Passenger records / milestones
- 24 Jul 2026 Bristol Airport said it expects around 1.8 million passengers over the summer holidays, one of its busiest seasons on record. It forecast about 80,000 travellers between Sat 26 and Wed 28 July, and around 160,000 between Fri 21 and Mon 24 August, and has taken on extra seasonal staff across engineering, fire, catering and ground transport. (source) (source)
- Ongoing Bristol Airport holds planning permission to grow from 10 to 12 million passengers a year (granted after appeals and a High Court challenge) and has set out a masterplan to 2040 with further capacity ambitions. (source)
New and changed routes / airlines
- Summer 2026 Bristol's summer 2026 schedule adds new routes including Seville, Reus, Bari, Cape Verde and Thessaloniki, with Ryanair operating dozens of routes from Bristol including a new Bari connection and increased frequencies on several leisure and city destinations. (source) (source)
Security rule changes (liquids / electronics)
- 2026 Liquid rules still vary between UK airports: some hubs now use next-generation CT scanners that allow containers up to 2 litres with no clear-bag requirement, while others retain the 100ml limit. Before you fly, check Bristol Airport's official security page for the current rule, and pack liquids in ≤100ml containers if in any doubt. (source)
<!-- HELD (single/secondary source only to NOT for publication until second primary source confirmed): Claim: Bristol Airport has now LIFTED the 100ml liquids rule and allows up to 2 litres via new CT scanners (as of 2026). Only sources found this run are secondary/trade blogs (theswindonian.co.uk, thetraveler.org, notjusttravel.com). This directly conflicts with the Which? guidance still listing Bristol under the 100ml rule. Bristol's own security page returned HTTP 403 to our fetch this run and could not be verified. Do not publish as fact until confirmed against Bristol Airport's official security page or another primary source. -->
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Last verified August 2026 by the Bristol Airport Guide editorial team. Prices and timetables change, so confirm the specifics on the official Bristol Airport website before you travel.