A frequent flyer explains the passenger experience now the new transport interchange is open
Estel is a Content Editor for Bristol Live. She joined Bristol Live in December 2019 after working at WalesOnline. She was a finalist at the 2019’s Regional Press Awards as well as the 2019’s and 2020’s Wales Media Awards. Born in Barcelona, Estel loves the countryside, yoga and a good bath.
The new pedestrian walkway(Image: Grace Burton/Bristol Live)
Growing up in Barcelona, I am certainly no stranger to an airport controversy. As Spain entered the economic crisis of the late 2000s and early 2010s, there was a lot of talk in the news of the housing bubble, the banking crisis, unemployment and airports.
You would hear about these airports that had been built in remote parts of Spain, to then barely be used. There was the case of Huesca’s airport, which reportedly went six months without a single commercial flight.
That is certainly not the case at Bristol Airport, which describes itself as England’s third largest regional airport. Last year, the airport saw a record number of travellers, with 10 million people passing through.
What is more, the airport has said it is planning to expand to serve 15 million passengers per year, with these plans coming just two years after it won a high court battle against campaigners to be able to expand to 12 million passengers a year.
I am one of those 10 million passengers, travelling from the airport to go to and from Barcelona several times a year to see my family. Besides, like most Bristolians, I do the airport run a few times a year when friends need a lift there – so I would say I am fairly familiar with the space.
Just last week I got to use the airport’s new £60m public transport interchange and, it may be because of my origins and the airport scepticism that seems to come with them, but I have to admit I was not that impressed by it. It all felt a bit pointless.
(Image: Grace Burton/Bristol Live)
The aim of the interchange is to create a “smoother arrival and departure”, in the words of the airport. There is now level access to the terminal, which is a good thing, but on the other hand the distance from the drop-off and pick-up area to the terminal is longer.
If you are someone with limited mobility, like my mum is, you probably would have used the express drop off point anyway – so the new level access for all doesn’t make a difference, as it was already level from the old express drop off.
The new area itself is certainly very fancy looking, and there is a huge new M&S where you can spend your money, but I didn’t think there was much difference in my actual experience of using the airport. If anything, it took me longer as I had to walk a bit further.
(Image: Grace Burton/Bristol Live)
Over the years, I have got to the airport in different ways. I used to drive and park there when I lived in Wales, I have had lifts from friends and paid for taxis many times before; these days, I mostly rely on the Airport Flyer bus.
Before, the Flyer would drop you off right outside the airport, while you now have to go over a pedestrian bridge link. The space is much bigger though, with 16 coach and bus stands up from just five prior to the upgrade.
While I am sure some people will love the new interchange, and it certainly ties in well with the airport’s £400m transformation programme, I am not one of those. It didn’t add anything or improve my journey in any way.
As a single parent travelling with a toddler, I would have been so happy if a fraction of that money had gone towards making the airport a tiny bit more child-friendly; a small playground somewhere, a soft play area or a kids’ room somewhere. One day.
In the meantime, we get a multi-million transport interchange and, at least in this case, we can reassure ourselves by the fact it was privately funded and we didn’t have to pay for it.