Bespoke hoarding solution developed for Bristol Airport's £400m Terminal Transformation

Major airport façade works facilitated by bespoke hoarding solution

Bristol Airport is undergoing a £400 million terminal transformation designed to increase passenger capacity to 12 million travellers annually. As part of the project, Farrans Construction was appointed to deliver a two-floor terminal extension. The project will infill the area between the existing terminal building and the departure gates, increasing the terminal’s footprint by 45% and adding 17 shops and restaurants. Additional space for island retail units and more seating, a new domestic arrivals reclaim area, new lifts and stairs will also enhance the passenger experience and support the airport’s long-term growth.

As England’s third-largest regional airport and the international gateway for the South West of England and South Wales, it is vital that the airport remains open to passengers and that the passenger experience is not impacted while the work takes place. The project also required wind and weather protection during the removal of the existing façade. As the existing lightweight sheet-metal roofing provided insufficient strength and rigidity for conventional floor-to-ceiling hoarding fixings, Farran’s Construction needed a partner capable of developing a bespoke solution.

Having worked with Westgate Global on the £100m Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) regeneration project, Farrans Construction approached the team to provide a solution for the demanding technical, operational and aesthetic requirements of the live airport environment. Westgate Global’s in-house team undertook a full survey, providing structural calculations and detailed engineering submissions as part of the project proposal, with dedicated, collaborative project management maintained throughout delivery.

To meet the project’s unique engineering requirements, the team designed and fabricated a bespoke solution to overcome the structural limitations of the lightweight roof interface. Traditional floor-to-ceiling fixings could not be used, so the team designed and installed a framework using box-section steelwork. The framework was then clad with Hoardfast^® Firescreen with a 60 minute fire-rating, ensuring compliance with the airport’s fire strategy while creating a robust enclosure capable of withstanding the exposed environmental conditions. The temporary hoarding solution provided weather protection, maintained security and safely separated construction activities from the public.

Protecting passengers, performance and the airport experience

With construction activity of this scale, keeping passengers safe, comfortable and moving through the terminal was a challenge that demanded an exceptional solution. Westgate Global also supplied Hoardfast^® PVC as a free-standing system. The lightweight PVC modular hoarding installs quickly without fixing to the building. This provided a fast, efficient and cost-effective solution for a live terminal where speed of installation and minimal disturbance were essential. Its smooth, wipe-clean panels provided a professional finish suited to public-facing areas, with the flexibility to incorporate branded graphics where required.

Both Hoardfast Firescreen and Hoardfast PVC created a seamless transition between operational airport areas and live construction zones, allowing passengers to move through the terminal with minimal disruption from the works taking place behind the hoarding. The modular nature of both systems enables them to be dismantled, relocated and reused throughout the project’s multiple phases – significantly reducing waste and supporting the airport’s sustainability objectives.

An experienced, compliant hoarding supplier

The project draws on Westgate Global’s proven track record at Manchester, Birmingham, Stansted, Luton and Leeds Bradford airports, together with its collaborative work with Crossley Consult to ensure asset and airport compliance across complex live environments. This expertise gives principal contractors and airport operators confidence that works of this scale can be delivered safely, compliantly, and without compromising the passenger experience. For this project, the hoarding solutions enabled Bristol Airport’s terminal transformation to proceed while the airport remained fully operational, in a complex construction environment where passenger safety, operational continuity, and customer experience were critical.

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