BRISTOL Airport has taken a multi-million pound step towards increasing the number of services it offers.

A £6.5million central walkway has been opened which includes four new pre-boarding zones serving up to six departure gates.

The 3,880 sqm structure connects directly to the departure lounge.

It represents a significant step for the airport which hopes to annually cater for more than 10 million passengers by 2020.

Bristol Airport managed to record its busiest ever June last month, before the walkway was opened.

About 646,000 passengers used the terminal at the Lulsgate site – a 3.34 per cent increase on 2013.

A new summer service to Stockholm helped according airport bosses.

Shaun Browne, aviation director at Bristol Airport, said: “The strong performance across all airline sectors is particularly encouraging, with business, leisure and inbound traffic all contributing to June’s record passenger numbers.

“New facilities are in place to ensure we maintain service levels as passenger numbers continue to grow, and we are already focusing on further improvements we can bring to the route network from Bristol.”