A two-month consultation has been started into proposals to expand Bristol airport including a runway extension to enable more longer range aircraft.
The masterplan to 2040 will look at expected passenger growth beyond the current allowance of 12 million passengers a year up to 15 million by around 2036.
The consultation, which also proposes a larger terminal and supporting facilities, more car parking and improvements to public transport links, runs until January 31.
The proposals would enable the airport to provide more connections and serve new destinations, including a “limited number” of new long-haul flights, connecting the region directly with destinations such as the US east coast and the Middle East.
The increase to 15 million passengers will see aircraft movements increase from 85,990 to 100,000 a year in the longer term.
This would result in 35 extra aircraft movements on a busy day in peak periods, according to the airport.
An increase night flights by 1,000 – on average, four per night on a busy night in the peak period – is also being proposed.
“Connecting the region to more than 115 destinations increases productivity, supports businesses and enables inbound tourism,” an airport statement said.
The future development is forecast to support more than 37,000 jobs in the southwest and South Wales, including an additional 1,000 jobs at the airport.
A planning application is set to be lodged with North Somerset Council next year.
Chief executive Dave Lees said: “We constantly look at trends in air travel and we’ve been pleasantly surprised that people want to continue to travel by air.
“We’ve seen since the pandemic a real resurgence in terms of people wanting to connect with friends and family across Europe as well as across the world and that will inform our plans as we go forward over the coming years.
“The masterplan will look at what further development might be required to meet this growing demand for air travel and we’d welcome input from people to help shape our plans.”
More than £400 million is currently being invested on improving customer experience and reducing the airport’s carbon emissions, he noted.
Lees said: “We recognise there will be concerns about carbon emissions resulting from airport growth and the implications for climate change.
“So we are bringing forward proposals for what we consider to be responsible growth, growth that is both within the current UK carbon budgets required to meet net zero for all emissions by 2050, and with measures to achieve net zero airport operations by 2030. Meanwhile, we are also committed to working with partners in our region on aviation decarbonisation.”