Florida and Mexico will soon be added to Bristol Airport’s expanding list of destinations, as the airport announced it will introduce its first long-haul flights next summer.

Customers will be able to fly from the Lulsgate terminal to Cancun in Mexico and Sanford in Florida from summer 2017 onwards, courtesy of travel operators Thomson and its sister company First Choice.

The move is part of Thomson’s strategy to ensure customers across the UK can fly to exotic and far-flung destinations from their nearest airport.

The annoucement was celebrated with the arrival of Thomson’s state-of-the-art 787 Dreamliner aircraft at the terminal for the first time last week.

The flights will go on sale next month and the airport’s aviation director, Shaun Browne, welcomed the news.

He said: “This marks another major milestone in Bristol Airport’s route development, when we welcomed the first ever arrival of the Thomson Dreamliner aircraft.

“The routes added to the network will offer customers from the South West and Wales region more options of an exotic getaway.

“Whether it is to enjoy an all-inclusive resort in Mexico, or a fun-filled family holiday in Orlando, these destinations offer further choice for customers flying from their local regional airport to long-haul destinations.”

Thomson also announced last week it is to launch new routes from Bristol to Catania in Italy, Chania in Greece and the Catalonian city of Girona in Spain, alongside additional flights to Gran Canaria, Pula in Croatia and Paphos in Cyprus.