The major problem from a planning perspective is the lack of road/rail access. The airport is at the mercy of the bureaucratic mess that is the South Bristol Ring Road. This is a route that is probably 15 years away. In addition there is the Barrow Gurney problem. There was money obtained two years ago to complete a bypass around the village but this was shelved. I would imagine the planners will try to squeeze money out of Macquaire to pay for some or all of the road in return for planning at the airport. The airport itself is one of the most efficent in the UK (as noted by Michael O'Leary). The geographical footprint is very small given the size of operations.
If you watch the interview given by Paul Kehoe on BBC Points West on the 10th July 2007 he stated "We need to address surface access issues before we submit our planning application".
Last edited by bristolflyer; 19th Oct 2007 at 21:20.