Bristol airport has seen a third successive year of passenger growth, helped by a resurgence in business travel.
Numbers rose by 2.8% to 5.9 million last year over 2011.
This made Bristol the only airport in the UK’s top ten to see growth each year since the end of 2009.
June and July were record months while Bmi Regional started a double-daily service to Aberdeen in October, with further flights to Frankfurt and Hamburg to follow next month.
New routes included easyJet services to Copenhagen and Naples, and a three-times weekly Ryanair flight to Warsaw Modlin.
The rise in passenger numbers was achieved with fewer flights, with the total number of aircraft movements down by 7.3%. This represented a drop of almost 5,000 flights as a result of airlines operating larger aircraft with high load factors.
Chief executive Robert Sinclair said: “These figures are a very positive signal that the southwest economy is moving in the right direction.
“The resurgence in business travel has been particularly strong with several airlines, including KLM and Brussels Airlines, adding capacity on routes to major European hub airports.
“We expect this growth to continue throughout 2013, with further route announcements in the pipeline.”
The first phase of development which will ultimately enable the airport to handle 10 million passengers a year, was completed in June when three new aircraft stands were opened.
Other improvements included the construction of an additional immigration facility and an expanded security search area.
Work is underway on a new executive lounge, which will be 50% larger than the existing facility and will offer hot food and different zones in which passengers can work or relax before boarding flights.