Bristol Airport Blog

Fly to Boa Vista, Cape Verde, in winter 2011

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 16:47:12 GMT

From November 2011, Thomson Airways will connect Bristol Airport with the island of Boa Vista. The destination, which is a member of the independent Cape Verde Islands, is situated off the coast of Senegal and Mauritania in West Africa. Bristol Airport says that Boa Vista is “untouched” by world tourism, making it ideal for travellers who have grown weary of Benidorm, Alicante, and similar ‘sun and sea’ resorts.

Boa Vista is a paradise island, warmer and dryer than the Canary Islands, but just as picturesque. Towards the coast, gently sloping dunes end in white beaches. Rusty shipwrecks, some submerged beneath the sea, create an unusual panorama for first-time visitors. Boa Vista’s Rabil Airport and the popular Riu Karamboa Hotel are equally unique, resembling giant sandcastles. Bristol Airport’s aviation director, Shaun Browne, referred to Boa Vista as an “exciting new destination” for holidaymakers in need of a break from Britain’s overcast skies.

The route from Bristol will be operated by Thomson Airways until April 2012. The carrier already offers 40 destinations from Bristol Airport, including trans-Atlantic flights to Sanford in Florida and Cancún, Mexico. Planes will depart from Bristol every Tuesday for the duration of the winter season. Flights to Boa Vista from Glasgow and East Midlands airports will also begin later this year, courtesy of Thomson.

Package deals for holidays at the Royal Decameron, Riu Touareg, and Riu Karamboa hotels are being sold by Thomson, beginning at £704 per person for a seven-night stay. The hotels, located on Boa Vista’s beaches, generally offer three to four-star accommodation, with a variety of bars and restaurants available on site.

Bristol installs ‘twisted’ wind turbine

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 12:14:50 GMT

Terms like ‘carbon footprint,’ ‘global warming,’ and ‘renewable energy’ are rarely out of the headlines in this enlightened century. The idea that an industry can be both productive and environmentally friendly is a favourite daydream of engineers and businessmen, but few companies have the money or the desire to install a few solar panels on the cafeteria roof.

However, Bristol Airport has made an effort to catch up with the country’s eco-warriors, by installing a new wind turbine on the front lawn. The turbine, standing 20m tall, has a unique helical, or ‘twisted,’ design, which produces less noise and fewer vibrations than conventional windmills, such as those at Thanet, off the coast of Kent. The structure, says Bristol Airport, is part of an ongoing pilot project.

The Southwest Regional Development Agency contributed £39,000 to the purchase of the turbine, while specialist manufacturer, Aeolus Power, was responsible for designing and installing the contraption, dubbed the Quiet Revolution qr5. Christine Griffiths, a partner of Aeolus, said that the qr5 was “ideal for Bristol Airport,” as the turbine was designed to function in built-up areas.

Bosses at the southwest airport hope to generate enough electricity to make 203,000 cups of tea (0.03kw per cup) during the turbine’s first year, a remarkable number of beverages for a lone windmill. Whether the hub has actually spent thousands of pounds on powering a giant kettle is debatable.

Alan Davies, planning officer at Bristol, referred to the turbine as a “high profile statement of our ambition to reduce our reliance on carbon.” The structure is ostensibly part of plans to expand and upgrade the airport to support 12.5m passengers by 2030, more than double Bristol Airport’s total traffic in 2010.

Green light for Bristol's 'first hotel'

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:22:15 GMT

A sustainable (and rather unusual) hotel is to be built at Bristol Airport, according to news website Hotel Designs. The building, alleged to be the hub’s first dedicated hotel, is being developed by London-based firm EPR Architects, the scribblers behind the Rose Bowl Cricket Ground, Hampshire, and ITV’s Granada Studios in Manchester.

The structure, once complete, will stand within a short walk of the airport’s main terminal, providing travellers with unrivalled access to the UK’s ninth largest hub. The hotel’s day-to-day operation will be handled by Pederson Hotels, a company that owns similar accommodation in Sheffield and Reading.

Arranged into two ‘wings’, the hotel is H-shaped and has its own dedicated parking zone to the west of the building. The as-yet-unnamed structure will be built from materials which prevent the loss of heat and energy to the cold outside the walls. Current plans will allow a maximum of 251 guests on 3 or 4 floors.

“The hotel has been designed to have a strong horizontal emphasis with colour used to articulate the form,” explains Hotel Designs. In layman’s terms, the building has colourful stripes. The architects hope that the stripy exterior will distinguish it from the ‘office block’ style of many new budget hotels.

A restaurant and bar installed adjacent to the main reception area will delight hungry guests, while three meeting rooms will allow business types to discuss the latest pie chart over a hot projector. The hotel will be fronted by a "landscaped area” complete with a path that leads to the terminal doors.

The development will help officials at Bristol Airport achieve their collective dream of 10 million passengers a year by 2020, a goal that is supported by a controversial £150m expansion due to get underway in the coming months.

The Land of the Pharaohs, from Bristol

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:50:54 GMT

Earlier this month, staff at Bristol Airport swapped their uniforms for something a little more extravagant, as the hub celebrated a new Thomson Airways route to Luxor, Egypt, with a pharaoh-themed fancy dress party.

Luxor, the site of the Ancient Egyptian city, Thebes, is one of the most popular tourist resorts in North Africa. The city sits on the banks of the Nile, and claims the ruins of the Karnak temple, and the nearby Valley of the Kings as landmarks.

Explorers can also book a felucca (a small yacht) ride on the Nile. The Greek historian, Herodotus, once said that Egypt was given to the world by the famous river, emphasising its importance in founding the ‘Land of the Pharaohs.’ Man-eating crocodiles, weighing 225kg, were also gifted to Egypt by the Nile.

With an average July temperature of 41 degrees Celsius, Luxor is an ideal destination for both sun seekers and would-be historians alike.

Airport bosses say that Thomson has helped boost winter capacity at the North Somerset hub by an impressive 55% over 2009, by adding the Luxor route, introducing a flight from Bristol to Gran Canaria at the beginning of November, and making the decision to base a second aircraft at the airport.

Bristol claims that seven new Thomson routes will go on sale during the winter of 2010/11, but it is unknown whether the airline’s latest additions are included in that figure. Flights to Larnaca in Cyprus, Heraklion in Greece, and Reus in Spain, are at least some of the routes to be introduced during the colder months.

Thomson is operating the flight to Luxor alongside its sister company, First Choice. Tickets for the route are being sold at £199 for a return trip, all taxes included. The price is for a single adult returning after a seven or fourteen day stay in Egypt. Naturally, First Choice is offering package deals for Luxor, with a week at the four-star hotel, the Iberotel Luxor, costing £374 per person.

Man arrested with 'arsenal' of weapons

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 13:59:32 GMT

While smuggling is a staple of Hollywood blockbusters, from the global transport of heavy weapons in Lord of War, starring Nicolas Cage, to cocaine trafficking in Martin Scorsese’s, Goodfellas, the reality of smuggling is rarely flattering, with the culprits often portrayed as idiots in the media.

For example: a would-be cocaine smuggler was arrested at Newcastle Airport earlier this year, after locking himself in his own car, a feat that most would consider impossible, given that he had the keys on his person.

With airport security at its most paranoid in recent memory, pending a possible review in the coming months, smugglers are being captured at a prodigious rate, carrying such bizarre items as seahorses, boa constrictors, rare eggs, and even three alligators – possibly the last thing you would want to hide in your underpants.

Yet, audacious and ridiculous smuggling schemes happen every day, with one of the most recent occurring at Bristol Airport earlier this year. Liam Dimond, a 20-year-old male from Patchway, Bristol, was reportedly caught trying to bring an “arsenal” of weapons through his local airport, according to newspaper, the Evening Post.

Liam had been travelling back from a holiday in Bulgaria with his parents when customs officers discovered the haul.

The items, which were all melee weapons, barring a few throwing stars and a stun gun, included knuckle-dusters and flick knives, some of which were disguised as mundane items, such as cigarette lighters. The culprit claimed that the weapons, numbering ten in all, were “collection items” destined for his bedroom wall, rather than functional arms.

Owen Strickland, Dimond’s solicitor, said that the defendant had an “interest” in the handheld weapons after “seeing them in films.”

Dimond pleaded guilty to the offence earlier this month, but the case has since been referred to Bristol Crown Court, after a local magistrate ruled that the sheer size of the arsenal, coupled with Dimond’s previous convictions, meant that any sentence would need to be meted out by a judge with greater powers.

Flybe pleads with islanders

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 13:56:33 GMT

Isle of Man residents need to start using Flybe’s route to Bristol Airport, or it will be axed, said airline boss, Mike Rutter.

Speaking in March, just a few days after the airline unveiled the route between the city and the island, Mike said, “Our Isle of Man passengers are looking for regular, reliable services with a carrier that is committed long-term to the island.”

However, the budget airline’s loyalty to the island has been tested by falling passenger numbers, prompting the carrier’s decision to review the route.

The Isle of Man, famed for the triskelion on its flag and its annual Tourist Trophy (or ‘TT’) motorcycle race, has been a staple of aviation news in recent months, chiefly concerning the activities of native carrier, Manx2.

Manx2 recently transferred its entire operation from Belfast International Airport to neighbouring Belfast City Airport, claiming that the move would “double” the size of its business in Northern Ireland.

Then, at the beginning of October, the airline was voted the best flight provider on the island, receiving 15% more of the votes than larger carrier, easyJet.

Flybe claims that the popularity of the Isle of Man is borne out by a rise in passenger numbers at other airports operating Flybe routes to the island, including Birmingham, Luton, and Manchester.

This means that either Bristol Airport is driving customers away, or travellers are being hoovered up by rival airports and airlines.

In this case, the fabled ‘giant-killer’ appears to be Gloucestershire Airport, located 50 miles up the M5 motorway. The tiny hub is home to just one airline, Manx2, which provides routes to Jersey, and its homeland, the Isle of Man.

EasyJet’s new route to Liverpool from the island has also been cited as a possible contributor to the failure of the Bristol-Isle of Man connection.

Bristol Airport bosses were not optimistic, with Director, Ann Reynolds, saying that she “would not be surprised,” if Flybe decided to operate the Isle of Man route on a summer-only basis, a dramatic cull of the 11 weekly flights operating at present.