page_title: Bristol Airport
section_title: Ground transport
hierarchical_section_title: Bristol Airport / Ground transport
caption_attribution_description: English: The Bristol Airport Flyer coach service picking up at Temple Meads railway station, Bristol, England. The Scania coach is First Coaches number 23012 (registration YN54APF).
context_page_description: Bristol Airport, at Lulsgate Bottom in North Somerset, is the commercial airport serving the city of Bristol, England, and the surrounding area. It is 7 nautical miles southwest of Bristol city centre. Built on the site of a former RAF airfield, it opened in 1957 as Bristol Airport, replacing Bristol Airport as Bristol's municipal airport. From 1997 to 2010, it was known as Bristol International Airport. In 1997, a majority shareholding in the airport was sold to FirstGroup, and then in 2001 the airport was sold to a joint venture of Macquarie Bank and others. In September 2014, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan bought out Macquarie to become the sole owner.
  In 2018, it was ranked the ninth busiest airport in the United Kingdom, handling nearly 8.7 million passengers, a 5% increase compared with 2017. A passenger survey carried out in 2015 found that 32.5% of journeys using the airport started or ended in the city of Bristol, 9.6% in Gloucestershire, 24.5% in Somerset and 16.9% in Devon.
  Airlines with operating bases at the airport include EasyJet and Ryanair.
context_section_description: Bristol Airport is located on the A38, 8 mi (13 km) southwest of Bristol city centre. The airport is signposted from the M5 motorway, from junction 22 when approaching from the south and junction 18 when approaching from the north. Neither gives quick access to the airport, a fact which was recognised by the Greater Bristol Strategic Transport Study. In November 2013, Bristol and North Somerset councils approved a planning application for the South Bristol Link Road, which provides a link from the A38 northwards to the A370 at Long Ashton, giving the airport an improved connection to the M5, and a link from the A38 southwards to Hengrove Park, connecting to the Bristol Ring Road. The South Bristol Link, part of the MetroBus rapid transit route, was opened in January 2017 and is expected to provide a reduction in journey times to the airport for both bus passengers and car drivers.
  The Bristol Airport Flyer bus service links the airport to Bristol Temple Meads railway station and Bristol bus station. The service, numbered A1, is operated by First West of England on behalf of Bristol Airport. The same company operates the A2 service from/to Weston-super-Mare, and the A3 on a more direct route to/from Weston-super-Mare railway station. The A4 'Air Decker' service operated by Bath Bus Company links the airport with southern suburbs of Bristol, Keynsham and Bath. The 'South West Falcon' service operated by Stagecoach South West runs between Bristol and Plymouth, via the airport and Bridgwater, Taunton and Exeter.
caption: The Bristol Airport Flyer picking up at Bristol Temple Meads railway station
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