Bristol Airport’s control tower was evacuated with planes diverted after false alarm

Flights to and from Bristol faced disruption today after the airport’s control tower was evacuated. Passengers at the airport, including some whose flights were diverted to Cardiff, reported being told by staff that a fire alarm had been activated, leading to the temporary grounding of flights.

A total of six flights were diverted to alternative airports, with the majority heading to Cardiff and at least one diverted to Birmingham, as indicated in the airport’s arrivals and departures information. There were also reports that some departing flights were delayed by about an hour due to the evacuation.

A Bristol Airport representative later clarified that the incident was a false alarm and that normal flight operations were resuming.

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One affected traveller, whose flight from Santorini was diverted to Cardiff, expressed his experience on social media: “ @BBBCristol @BristolLive relives Bristol Airport disruption due to fire alarm/evacuation. Our return flight from Santorini was diverted to Cardiff…on the ground for an hour. Now I’m flying back to Bristol shortly. Suspect quite a few delays.

Another flyer told BristolLive of their frustration at being “on the tarmac for an hour” waiting for take-off. By 4.15pm, it was confirmed that all flights that had previously been diverted had successfully landed in Bristol, reports Bristol Live.

A Bristol Airport spokesman commented: “Our airport control tower was evacuated earlier this afternoon. After investigation, this was found to be a false alarm, but we have temporarily suspended airport operations as a precaution.”

“Bristol Airport is now open and flights are back to normal. We are working with our partner airlines to return passengers from diverted flights. We are sorry for the disruption caused to passengers.”