Bristol Airport reunites families and friends this Christmas and New Year

This festive season will see around 430,000 customers travelling through Bristol Airport either coming home for Christmas or jetting off for a well-earned break.

Flights are also landing this weekend from Barcelona, Belfast, Budapest, Berlin and Krakow in time for Christmas celebrations, with a peak of more than 12,000 customers arriving on Sunday 21 December.

Image: Ryanair plane on the runway at Bristol Airport 

As with previous years, flights arriving from Dublin ensure family and friends travelling in from Ireland, USA and Canada can spend some precious time together.

And with flights also scheduled from Amsterdam, customers can fly into Bristol from as far a field as Asia as well as Europe and the USA, in order to spend time with loved ones this Christmas and New Year.

The Airport is operating 14 flights on Christmas Day with eight in total arriving and departing for Amsterdam, one inbound and out bound Pegasus flight for Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen, which is situated on the Asian and more residential side of Istanbul, as well as flights to and from Gran Canaria and Lanzarote.

The busiest day this festive period (Friday 19 December 2025  – Sunday 4 January 2026) is Sunday 28 December, with nearly 32,000 customers arriving and departing through the terminal.

Scott Deacon-Church, Head of Terminal Operations at Bristol Airport said: “This year Bristol Airport will reunite thousands of families and friends for Christmas. Many are choosing to fly into their local Airport to reconnect, rather than into other airports and travel back to the South West.

“We look forward to welcoming everyone home as well as helping others escape for some festive fun whether that be in the sun, a winter wonderland or hitting the slopes. We wish all of our customers a very Merry Christmas.”

The top hot spots for winter sun this year are Alicante, Tenerife, Malaga, Lanzarote and Faro. The most popular wintry destinations are Geneva in Switzerland, Innsbruck in Austria, Toulouse in France, Turin in Italy and Sofia in Bulgaria. And the top city breaks are Amsterdam, Dublin, Edinburgh, Paris and Glasgow.

Customers using the A1 Flyer bus to arrive into Bristol city centre and Temple Meads train station should check the festive timetable on the Airport website.

Check In Advice

• Please allow enough time for car parking and transiting to the terminal, checking in a minimum of two hours prior to scheduled departure time.
• If travelling with presents, keep them unwrapped and check with your airline if Christmas crackers can be carried on board the aircraft.
• Liquids, aerosols and gels/pastes can be up to 2 litres per item and remain in hand luggage along with all electronics (laptops, tablets and mobile phones) while passing through security screening. Metallic water bottles should be emptied before entering security.
• It is advised to check the regulations when travelling through other airports.
• Coats, hats and belts should be placed in the tray provided with a hand luggage bag on top. Empty pockets and place loose items in hand luggage. Customers may still be asked to take off shoes.
• Pushchairs and car seats that have not been checked in, along with wheelchairs and walking aids will be searched, so customers should allow more time for this. We recommend travelling with only essential items in your hand baggage and pushchairs to enable easy transit through security.
• Parents should prepare children who are 1 metre tall and above to use the security scanner or if they are unable to hold the position required or are under 1 metre tall, then they will be hand searched. For further information please check the security section at the Airport on the website.

Complimentary car waiting zone

• Please use our free waiting zone if you can
• It is located next to car rentals.
• A courtesy bus runs from outside the Public Transport Interchange every 15 minutes, between 6am and midnight and on demand overnight, dropping off and collecting.
• Customers should visit the car parking section of the website for maps and directions.

It is recommended customers sign up to the Airport’s Rewards emails, as they will receive regular updates and discounts for car parking and other useful services.