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Bristol Airport is an international airport serving Bristol, England, and the surrounding areas. It is located at Lulsgate Bottom and made headlines on Thursday, November 23, when it shared a photo of its new multi-faith area outside its main building on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“This week, we have opened a new multi-faith area in the free waiting zone. Located just off the Silver Zone roundabout, the new area provides customers with a private space to reflect and pray whilst waiting to collect friends, family or loved ones,” the caption read.
A Multi-faith prayer area is a quiet place where people of all faiths (or no faith) can pray, meditate, think, or just find peace. These spaces are typically found in crowded public areas like airports, universities, hospitals, etc.
Bristol Airport's post and the photo of the multi-faith area soon went viral and internet users began to criticize it.
"Looks like a bus shelter" - Netizens criticize Bristol Airport for its multi-faith area
A multi-faith area at Bristol Airport became the talk of the town online and was compared to a smoking zone or bus shelter. On November 23, the airport authorities announced on X that the facility had opened in one of its parking lots.
The area, which is situated right off the Silver Zone parking lot roundabout, is supposed to give people a quiet place to think and pray while they wait to pick up their loved ones.
A multi-faith space or multi-faith room is nothing but a quiet area in a busy public setting, like a university, airport, hospital, etc., where people of different religious beliefs can spend time in isolation, solitude, contemplation, or prayer.
These areas are compact, tidy, and mainly plain, making them suitable for any kind of religious or spiritual experience. They occasionally serve as gathering places for people of various faiths during multi-faith worship sessions.
They are open to individuals of all faiths and also to individuals who do not practice any religion. People with a variety of religious, spiritual, and non-religious backgrounds are welcome in this room.
However, after Bristol Airport opened this facility, people mocked it on social media, comparing it to bus stops or smoking areas. Netizens took to the comment section of the post to criticize the facility and some wondered if they had come across a parody account for the airport.
Flights were grounded at Bristol Airport last month
Numerous flights were grounded at Bristol Airport in the early hours of October 28 due to an accident that occurred on the A38, according to the Bristol Post. Shortly after 1 am local time on Saturday, Avon and Somerset Police reported that the road between the two airport roundabouts was closed.
At 4:50 am on Saturday, the airport issued a statement informing travelers that "flights will not take off from Bristol Airport this morning until 08.00."
The statement further informed:
“Passengers flying this morning are advised to leave extra time to travel to the Airport and check flight details with their airline.”
The road closure was caused by a two-vehicle collision that occurred between the roundabouts outside the airport's main entrances, according to Avon and Somerset Police. The A38 was closed until approximately 10 am local time, at which point the traffic monitoring website Inrix reported that it had reopened.
