Bristol Airport recap: Families stranded as passengers rage 'let us out' after mass flight chaos

Our live blog on this incident has now come to an end. Thanks for reading.

As operations continue to try to get back to normal at Bristol Airport, passengers who were caught up in the chaos say there was a stark lack of communication.

One disgruntled traveller wrote: "Safety should always come first, but communication with passengers is still important. I dont think we were the only ones to feel completely abandoned last night.

"The airport should be ashamed of how customers were treated yesterday."

While operations are resuming again at Bristol Airport, after a runway repair grounded alll flights to and from the airport for hours, many passengers are demanding answers to what they say was an "information blackout".

One passenger wrote on X: "Why is comms so bad though? Things happen but people just want to know what is going on.

"No tweets at all until now and limited info on website why the information blackout? I think people would be much more chill if you just told us what was going on properly."

Meanwhile on Facebook, another wrote on a social media post shared by the airport: "The airport has been closed for a day, but not a mention of this minor detail."

Bristol Airport has issued a statement on social media.

"Flights resumed at 8am today after we temporarily suspended operations yesterday. There's some disruption to flights today. Customers should contact their airline with flight queries. We're very sorry for any inconvenience caused while essential runway repairs were carried out," it said.

Another passenger said his flight back home to Bristol in the early hours this morning was diverted to Newcastle - and he had to hail a cab at 3am to complete the final leg of his journey back home.

"Not where I expected my delayed @easyJet flight to @BristolAirport to end up at 3am this morning," he wrote, with a photograph of Newcastle International Airport.

"Im sure Newcastles lovely and all but now have a 5 hour taxi ride back to Bristol (which must be eye-wateringly expensive for EasyJet)!"

The runway closure, which came into affect late last night, has sparked travel chaos for hundreds of passengers.

Arrivals have been diverted, many to London, Birmingham and Cardiff, and departures severely delayed.

Dozens of passengers have taken to social media to slam what they describe as chaos at the airport, with little information about the situation - or their flights.

"Bristol Airport is like a cattle market. No flights until at least 8am but people arriving in their 1000's," said one traveller on X. "No floorspace anywhere in the airport".

In an update at 6am this morning, Bristol Airport has said it has suspended all operations "due to a defect on the runway" with flights grounded "until at least 8am".

Welsh mum Charmaine Hines has told of her nightmare trying to get home with her young family from a summer holiday in Barcelona.

She, her husband, and their three kids - aged four, 10 and 12 - have been stuck in Barcelona Airport, caught up in Friday's sudden Bristol Airport closure.

Charmaine and her family were supposed to fly at 10:05pm last night with easyJet and, well, that has not happened.

Last night they spent three and a half hours at Barcelona Airport with no access to food as they waited "as we had to go and collect our hold luggage", the mum-of-three told the Bristol Live.

Thankfully, easyJet did offer them hotel at 10.30pm, meaning the family did not have to spend the night on the airport floor.

But, communication has still been poor - we've "checked the app and [our] rearranged flight is already two hours delayed".

"No email or text from easyJet," the mum said, adding the only way the family have received any updates is by proactively checking the airline's app.

Charmaine slammed easyJet's handling of the situation and their lack of communication.

She said of last night that the "easyJet advisor at Barcelona airport was no help and didnt have a clue what to say or do.

"No care from easyJet the fact weve not eaten for nearly 24 hours. They expect us to have unlimited money to pay for everything, [meanwhile] we collect receipts and then will have to await refunds!"

She added: "It is not ideal with [it being] summer holidays, and having to wait - and no idea how long for - for our money back!"

[Mum Charmaine could not believe her eyes to see no easyJet staff available to help as the Bristol Airport outage continues]

Mum Charmaine could not believe her eyes to see no easyJet staff available to help as the Bristol Airport outage continues(Image: Charmaine Hines)

To add insult to injury, the Welsh mum revealed that the family have rocked up to Barcelona Airport this morning to find no easyJet support staff present to assist with any queries.

Livid passengers stuck in Friday night's chaos took to social media to complain about being left stranded in the airport.

One person said on on X: 'EasyJet holding everyone hostage at Bristol Airport! Let us out! Let us out! Communication is appalling.'

A second added: "Bristol Airport, whats happening tonight? We are stuck in the airport with no clear guidance for 3 hours. Any information would be appreciated."

A third piped up with: "Its disgusting. Theyve locked me in the gate 26 toilets. All I did was ask them why it was cancelled."

Another furious passenger raged that their flight had been diverted hours away, from Bristol to Newcastle.

While a fifth person said: "'EasyJet I am livid!!!! Your flight from Dubrovnik to Bristol tonight has been cancelled and there are no staff there to assist. "My daughter has been told to go on your website and book another flight to Gatwick!! No mention of hotel! Pathetic!!"

The digital departures board for Bristol Airport is starting to show signs of life. While the official line from the airport remains the same - "Customers should refer to their airlines with any flight queries. All flights are currently suspended until at least Saturday [at] 6am," as per an online statement - Bristol's online departures board is starting to show signs of hope.

[The digital departures board is showing signs of life]

The digital departures board is showing signs of life(Image: Bristol Airport)

Yes, the updates to the departures board may be in the form of delays - but here's hoping that they're a rough indication that flights will be back up and running shortly.

Flights departing Bristol Airport remain up in the air, so to speak, with the departures board giving up very little by way of fresh information.

So far, all flights scheduled for Saturday remain blank as per the airport's digital departures board.

[Flights for the morning remain up in the air, so to speak]

Flights for the morning remain up in the air, so to speak(Image: Bristol Airport)

In a statement on its website, a Bristol Airport spokesperson said: Due to a defect on the runway, we have temporarily suspended operations as a precaution, in order to inspect and repair the section affected.

"We apologise for any inconvenience. Safety is always our number one priority. Customers should refer to their airlines with any flight queries.

"All flights are currently suspended until at least 06:00 tomorrow morning (Saturday 8 August).

Flights to and from Bristol Airport have been suspended due to a defect on the runway, with the outage expected to continue until at least 6am Saturday. According to the airport, all arrivals are being diverted to other airports.

While no more updates are expected tonight, we'll be here throughout the night and into the morning to keep you updated if anything changes.

Passengers whose flights from Bristol Airport were cancelled have been scrambling to book alternative flights from other airports, according to Bristol Live.

One passenger told the outlet: "I decided to take a bus. Some were still in queues to get taxis to go to London for 300 and take tomorrow morning flights. Im trying to get to Paris but all the flights are already booked."

EasyJet has warned passengers travelling to and from Bristol Airport to expect disruption.

[0_HPJJ2iLWQAEcx8Yjpeg.jpg]

Operations at Bristol Airport have been suspended until 6am on Saturday(Image: Paul Smith CIHCM/X)

Richard Broadbent said he could hear "people screaming on the phone" when his partner and daughter - who were due to fly to Newcastle earlier this evening - told him their flight had been cancelled.

He told the BBC: "She said suddenly all flights were cancelled and all passengers were moved to one place down at ground level, and it was absolutely packed.

"Then alarms started going off, people were screaming and passengers were trying to break out. There was no staff."

Paul Smith, who was due to board a flight to Glasgow for his son's 20th birthday, has had to cancel his trip amid the disruption, the BBC reports.

"At the moment I'm in baggage return with lots of other people desperately trying to find my bags," he told the broadcaster.

"The communication, advice and support for passengers has been really poor."

Bristol Airport has advised passengers to "refer to their airlines with any flight queries" regarding changes to their flight status.

A passenger has said on X that they have been "stuck" at Bristol Airport "with no clear guidance for three hours".