Bristol Airport will shut completely for around six hours on five nights a week from Sunday 8 November to Thursday 4 December 2026, as part of essential runway and airfield maintenance work, with the closures affecting any flight due to depart or arrive between 11.30pm and 5.45am.
According to an official notice published through the UK's air navigation service provider, NATS, Bristol Airport (ICAO code EGGD) will be fully closed on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights throughout the period, with each closure running from 23:30 to 05:45 UTC. Friday and Saturday nights are not affected. The airport will not be available for diversions under its Plan 39 arrangement during the closed hours, though air traffic control services will continue to operate throughout.
The programme was confirmed independently by Aviation News UK, which reported on 29 October that Bristol's closures form part of a wider round of UK winter runway and taxiway maintenance also affecting Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham airports this November. Unlike Glasgow and Manchester, where one runway is kept open overnight, Bristol operates a single runway, so the whole airport closes during its maintenance windows.
Bristol Airport has run similar overnight closure programmes in previous winters, including a comparable schedule between 9 November and 8 December 2025, to carry out resurfacing and safety work on its runway and airfield without disrupting the bulk of its daytime and evening schedule.
For most passengers the practical effect should be limited, since airlines typically plan their schedules around published closure windows in advance. However, anyone booked on a very early departure or a late arrival between 8 November and 4 December should check their flight time directly with their airline, particularly for the first closure night on Sunday 8 November. Bristol Airport's operations team can be contacted at [email protected] for queries about the closure period.
What this means for your journey: if you are flying very early or very late during this period, confirm your flight time with your airline before setting off, and see our parking guide for advice on timing a drop-off or pick-up around the overnight closures.