Bristol Airport has been mocked in a barrage of online comments after unveiling a new multi-faith area in one of its car parks.
Posting a photo of the basic structure on social media site X, the airport said: ”The new area provides customers with a private space to reflect and pray whilst waiting to collect friends, family or loved ones."
However, the site has been ridiculed for its simplicity. Responding to the post on X, Fiona Shoop said: "It's a lovely idea but badly done, unfortunately - looks like a bus shelter and there's no door which means it will be freezing and wet, not exactly conducive to quiet reflection.”
Another X user posted a photo of the simple structure comparing it with the grandness of Notre Dame in Paris, St Peter’s Basilica in Rome and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul with a caption: “Dedicated to the worship of God.”
The photo on the Bristol Airport X feed has attracted a raft of ridicule with another user writing: “I often hear people say they don't understand what 'British Culture' means. I think we can all agree this is a shining beacon of Britishness: The reflection of a guy in Hi Vis, the bollard placement, the use of a 'Smoking Shed' as a 'Multi faith area'. THIS is Britain.”
Another likened the design to the “finest school portakabins” while another post said: “Are we praying for the bus to turn up or does it just look like a bus stop?”
In a second post, responding to the ridicule, Bristol Airport said:
"Please note the new multi-faith area was created after we consulted widely, listened to feedback and to provide shelter and dignity prior to the winter. We also have a multi-faith area in the Departure Lounge of the terminal situated between the Central Walkway and Gates 32-34."
The new multi-faith area can be found on the site's free waiting zone "just off the Silver Zone roundabout".