Regional UK airport reveals plans for first long-haul flights in 15 years – including to the US and Middle East

A UK airdrome has reveals plans to commencement long-haul flights - aft scrapping them years ago.

Bristol Airport once offered flights arsenic acold arsenic New York, conducted by now-closed Continental Airlines.

However, these were scrapped backmost successful 2010, with the longest way from the airdrome present conscionable nether six hours, to Cape Verde.

But caller plans could spot long-haul flights erstwhile again run from Bristol Airport.

A consultation has been launched successful regards to a longer runway hold astatine the airport, arsenic good arsenic a larger terminal.

As galore arsenic 15million passengers a twelvemonth are expected to question done Bristol Airport by 2036 - contempt the existent capableness of 12million.

If the hold was fixed the go-ahead, this could mean caller destinations including a "limited number" of long-haul flights, Travel Weekly reports.

Destinations would see the eastbound seashore of the UK, truthful places similar New York and Florida, arsenic good arsenic the Middle East specified arsenic Dubai.

Chief enforcement Dave Lees said: "We’ve seen since the pandemic a existent resurgence successful presumption of radical wanting to link with friends and household crossed Europe arsenic good arsenic crossed the satellite and that volition pass our plans arsenic we spell guardant implicit the coming years.

“The masterplan volition look astatine what further improvement mightiness beryllium required to conscionable this increasing request for aerial question and we’d invited input from radical to assistance signifier our plans.”

An summation successful passengers would spot 35 other flights a time during the highest seasons, arsenic good arsenic an summation of 1,000 nighttime flights passim the year.

It comes arsenic the airdrome is undergoing a huge £400million renovation.

The terminal volition beryllium 70 per cent larger arsenic portion of the revamp with caller restaurants and lounges.

Both baggage assertion and immigration volition beryllium made larger too, portion a covered walkway volition link holidaymakers from the car parkland to the airport.

The renovation is acceptable to instrumentality spot implicit the next 5 years.

Bristol Airport CEO Dave Lees antecedently said: "There volition beryllium a scope of casual eating options including much restaurants arsenic good arsenic expanding the size of our lounges for those wanting a quieter determination to unbend [and ] besides beryllium substantially expanding the migration area, baggage reclaim hallway and the fig of baggage reclaim units."

It comes aft the airport introduced caller information and assemblage scanners up of the caller liquid rules, though these person since been rolled back.

It's not conscionable Bristol wanting to motorboat caller long-haul flights.

Leeds Bradford Airport has revealed plans for longer routes successful the adjacent 3 years.

He said: “We’re already having those conversations with airlines from North America and the Middle East astir however we tin collectively enactment unneurotic to marque those things hap implicit the adjacent 2 to 3 years.

"I would beryllium disappointed if by 2027 we did not person flights to North America and the Middle East.”

Other caller long-haul flights from the UK see Norse Airways' caller Cape Town flights from London Gatwick.

And easyJet is launching flights from the UK to Cape Verde.