Farrans, a subsidiary of John Sisk & Son since November 2025, has started work on a two-floor terminal extension at Bristol Airport.
The project will infill an area between the existing terminal building and the departure gates, to cater for an increase to 12 million passengers per year.
An additional 17 food and retail units will almost double the number of shops and restaurants at the airport. There will also be space for island retail units and more seating. The arrivals hall is also getting a new domestic arrivals baggage reclaim area with an additional carousel and a 20% increase in capacity. Accessibility in the immigration area will also be improved with new lifts and stairs.聽
Farrans, in a joint venture with Griffiths, previously completed the new public transport interchange at Bristol Airport in July 2025. That 拢60m project, also part of the airport鈥檚 拢400m improvement plan, sees around 250 public transport movements a day.
Bristol Airport infrastructure director Andrew Goodenough said: 鈥淲e have ambitious plans to transform our customer experience over the next couple of years, and we really appreciate our customers patience and understanding while all of these massive improvements are taking place.
鈥淔loor space is going to increase by almost 45% and we鈥檒l have a total of 38 retail and food and beverage outlets including premium brands and dining options as well as a hidden speakeasy bar. We鈥檙e pleased to have Farrans back on site with us to deliver this project following the success of our public transport interchange.鈥�
Farrans project manager Gerard McNamee said: 鈥淭his is an exciting project which will be completed in a live environment in which all passenger routes need to remain open at all times. We have an extensive aviation portfolio with projects under way at Leeds Bradford Airport, Stansted Airport and Bristol Airport at the moment, so we are well versed in working collaboratively with our clients to reduce any disruption. We will be installing insulated hoardings and creating air locked spaces to maintain passenger flow.
鈥淥ne of the most innovative features logistically for this project is that we will be using a Bailey Bridge, a modular military-style bridge designed for rapid construction to temporarily bridge gaps, to bring our vehicles and equipment from land side to airside. We anticipate that at the peak of this project we will have approximately 150 people employed and many will be from local suppliers.鈥澛�