To warn you that Bristol airport has become a shit hole?

[adevilputaside]

I had the misfortune of flying out of there this morning.

Departures is far too small for the number of flights they have running. Everyone is rude, pushing in front of each other and not paying attention to their surroundings. The prices are ludicrous, even for an airport they’re unjustifiable. The layout of the new check in area is a joke, they just can’t get any of it right. Avoid!!!

So the problem was the general public?

Waving across the city to you, @MrsMoastyToasty ! 👋

I live in London and think LHR is ok overall. I avoid LGW like the plague.

The worst airport I have ever been to was Catania in Sicily. Barely any facilities, and complete chaos.

I went to the much-lauded Changi airport last year and was also underwhelmed by that, other than it feeling nice and quiet. Maybe I am hard to please!

I find a lot of behaviour has gone downhill over the last few years. Public and customer service. I work in the NHS full time and am never rude to anyone, despite being under a lot of stress. I have zero tolerance for rudeness to relatives and patients. So I find rudeness in others difficult.

but not really Bristol airport’s fault

Not visited many overseas airports then @adevilputaside try Montenegro airport - rammed - no where to wait for check in, queue for a single person to go through to the security area, more queues, then passport and bag check then when you make it through not enough seating and NO CAFE - you can forget your overpriced iced coffee - nothing. A drinks machine and duty free. Hot and rammed.

Anyway, I have flown many airports, and Bristol 3 times this year alone, and it is one of the better ones, very organised, bag checks at security quick and efficient. You pay standard city/airport/ prices for drinks - you could just use one of the shops that do meal deals with iced coffee if you want it cheaper. Quick bags on arrival and rapid exit out. Silver zone for parking is quick.

Do you work there or something? You seem to be extremely invested in proving that the OP was badly behaved. There’s nothing wrong with complaining about an experience when it’s rubbish and doesn’t meet needs. Doesn’t in any way imply that the person complaining was rude.

Never even been 🤭

Are you genuinely hallucinating?

Are you on holiday?

I find staff at Bristol airport pleasant and efficient. Heathrow on the other hand ….

I flew through Bristol a few weeks ago. It was perfectly fine. Very efficient, the parking and shuttle was also good. Airports are always a bit mad because people are stressed and anxious - nobody is at their best at the airport.
We were caught in the disruptions with the runway and got stuck in Spain for hours, but that can happen anywhere.

I flew from East Midlands airport this year and rather than be ripped off with things like £7 pasta pots we had a meal in the Italian restaurant. It wasn't cheap but was actually quite nice and a pleasant start to the holiday, despite feeling a bit odd paying over the odds for pretend-Italian food in the East Midlands on our way to, um, Italy. Still, it was much better than cramming into the hideous Wetherspoons/one of the fast food places and meant we were out of the crowds. I'd do it again despite it being quite an expensive start to the holiday.

Treviso on the way home wasn't much fun - nowhere near big enough for the admittedly relatively small amount of passengers going through. I think it must be operating at its capacity.

That's not an airport thing. If you go into Bristol itself the Starbucks are charging £6 for a latte. They went up around the time minimum wage went up again (surprise surprise).

I like Bristol but I'm not daft enough to fly out of it in August.

If so I don’t think she’s enjoying it

Landed a few hours ago, everyone else is asleep by the pool.

Airport experience can vary so much. So much depends on what time of the day you travel. Going on public transport seems to help because you avoid the parking fees anger.

Saying that, my first ever flight from Stansted last month was a huge surprise. I truly expected a 💩 hole. It was clean and airy. Space for everyone. No rude people anywhere.

So you thought you’d get in the holiday mood!

We could go to Bristol. I believe people do

At least it wasn't Nottingham.

Do you have an issue?

I don't disagree that Bristol Airport has been mismanaged. The parking fees just for drop off are insane and I've considered walking up from the A road before.

But don't most people just use the closest airport that offers a flight to their chosen destination, though? I love flying to Bristol because it's very close to a place I visit regularly and when those flights aren't on (6 months of the year) I have to go to London instead. Even if Heathrow is a nicer airport (yes, it is) I still wouldn't take the extra travelling time just to use it over Bristol.

Fair enough if you have two equidistant!

I think air travel generally leaves a lot to be desired. I’m not a frequent flyer, but enough to have encountered the kind of blinkered, self-centred rudeness which comes from thinking your need to get to the escalator ahead of everyone else, trumps my need not to be shouldered out of the way. This kind of behaviour is encouraged by the customer experience which is akin to being herded in and out of cattle trucks. There must be a better way. I know queues are inevitable, but it shouldn’t be beyond the wit of the airports to at least provide enough seating for everybody who is penned in the waiting areas and to eliminate the ubiquitous 15 minutes queueing in a stairwell. The only airport I have ever enjoyed flying from is Bournemouth - cool, calm and collected! That was several years ago, though, so it might have gone the way of all airports by now.

Flew from T5 a last year and it was crowded. We went into Plane Food and it was so calm and lovely. We had a great bowl of soup, sourdough bread and tap water. Good price for an airport and we sat in comfort for 90 mins!

I generally can't fathom any universe in which I need to know this or whether I would care.

Why does this need a public service announcement. If it's your closest airport and it flies where you want to fly, you use it.

Public transport is generally hell.

I think it’s fair to say that the golden age of flying has passed.