Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Balloons take flight but spectators frustrated
SHORTLY after 6am yesterday the first of more than 60 hot air balloons left the ground at Ashton Court near Bristol for the first mass ascent of this year’s Bristol International Balloon Fiesta.
On a clear and warm morning eager balloonists and their passengers took to the blue skies in a spectacular dawn display.
Hundreds – possibly thousands – of people were on the ground to watch the balloons take off for the first time this fiesta.
Twelve hours earlier on Thursday unpredictable evening winds had meant the balloons had to remain tethered to the ground but the popular night-glow event did go ahead.
As forecast, the winds yesterday morning took the balloons out over the North Somerset countryside towards Backwell, Nailsea and Flax Bourton.
This is the first full-blown balloon fiesta since before the pandemic and the crowds on the ground yesterday morning indicated how much the West had missed the fiesta.
But there was frustration for many people trying to get to Ashton Court yesterday morning as traffic chaos prevented them from getting there for the ascents.
On social media many complained of chaos on the roads and at the event’s car parks, particularly after having paid up to £23 in advance to park. In response to criticism, fiesta organisers issued a statement of apology.
It said: “Thank you everyone for your patience this morning with the traffic around Ashton Court. We apologise to anyone who missed the mass ascent while they were still trying to enter the car parks.
“We have looked into the issues and found that three contributing factors caused the delays.
“Firstly, we have had the largest ever number of cars join us for a morning mass ascent today.
“We also had two vehicle incidents around Ashton Court which added to the pressure on the road network and finally we had an issue where one of the gates was opened ten minutes later than the advertised time.
“We want to reassure everyone that we are thoroughly debriefing this now to ensure it will not happen again.
“We will be opening the car parks for the morning ascents at 5am for the rest of the weekend to ensure you have plenty of time to get in place before the inflation.”