Bristol Airport in the west of England could have its first aircraft maintenance hangar under plans being considered by local authorities.
The airport aims to raise passenger numbers by 25% over the next decade and sees a new hangar as necessary to support expanded airline operations, as aircraft currently based in Bristol must fly to other locations for MRO services.
Bristol is popular with European low-cost carriers such as Ryanair, EasyJet and Jet2, each of which operates to dozens of destinations from the airport.
Currently, one of the nearest airframe maintenance providers to Bristol is Caerdav’s hangar in St. Athan, near Cardiff, about 60 mi. to the west. St. Athan is also home to eCube’s disassembly and storage facility.
The construction plan envisages a two-bay hangar equipped with the raised platforms, tools and test stands required for routine aircraft overhauls.
However, it is unclear who might run the hangar. “This is in its early stages of concept, as it’s subject to planning permission being granted, so no decision has yet been made on how the hangar would be operated,” says a spokesperson for Bristol Airport.
Provided the airport receives approval to raise passenger numbers, construction of the hangar should begin before 2030.
The airport tells Aviation Week that a meeting to consider the planning application will occur this year.
If it does go ahead, the new facility would complement other aerospace capabilities in the region, most notably Airbus’ Filton site, where the OEM designs wings and conducts research for its ZEROe program.
Rolls-Royce and GKN Aerospace are also present at Filton, where the engine OEM designs components for its under-development Ultrafan engine, and composites manufacturer GKN builds wing spars and fixed trailing edge assemblies for the Airbus A350.
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