The High Court has today (Tuesday) dismissed the legal challenge brought against the Planning Inspectorate's permission for Bristol Airport's expanded capacity.

The Planning Inspectorate decided in February 2022 to allow Bristol Airport to increase its cap on passengers from 10 million passengers each year to 12 million.

The airport's plans include major investment in the terminal building, parking facilities, and public transport links. This decision was challenged in the High Court but dismissed by the judge who heard the case.

Dave Lees, CEO of Bristol Airport, said: "Bristol Airport welcomes the High Court Judge's decision to dismiss the claim and uphold the planning permission to increase Bristol Airport's capacity from 10 million to 12 million passengers per annum.

"The decision is excellent news for our region's economy, allowing us to create up to 5,000 new jobs, deliver more international destinations for the South West and South Wales, and invest hundreds of millions of pounds improving the customer experience.

"We will do this while working towards our ambitious target of net zero carbon operations by 2030. We look forward to working with stakeholders and the community to deliver our vision to be everyone's favourite airport."

Expanded capacity will add 800 jobs at Bristol Airport and up to a further 5,000 regionally, adding an estimated £430 million to the South West's economy.

Bristol Airport made the fastest recovery from the pandemic of any major UK airport and is anticipating a busy 2023.

Expanded capacity will allow the airport to explore new direct links to Europe and further afield. As well as providing economic links for the region, new routes will remove some of the millions of car journeys made from the South West and South Wales to London airports each year.

Bristol Airport put sustainability at the heart of their expansion proposals and will now push ahead with its multi-million-pound plans for net zero operations by 2030, alongside its work with partners in the region to accelerate the development of zero-emission flight.