Marseille Provence Airport () is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longe ...

located 27 km (17 miles) northwest of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, on the territory of

Marignane Marignane (; oc, Marinhana) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France. Geography It is a component of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, and the largest suburb of the ...

, both ''

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...

'' of the

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and larges ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety- ...

'' in the

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...

région France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (french: régions, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collec ...

'' of France. The airport's hinterland goes from Gap to

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

and from

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label= Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune ha ...

History

Formerly known as ''Marseille–Marignane Airport'', it has been managed since 1934 by the Marseille-Provence Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI). In the 1920s and 1930s, Marignane was one of France's main points of operation for flying boats. It even briefly served as a terminal for

Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...

''Clipper'' flying boats. Other flying boat operators were Aéropostale and

Air Union Air Union was a French airline established January 1, 1923, as the result of a merger between the airlines ''Compagnie des Messageries Aériennes'' and '' Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens''. Air Union was merged with four other French airli ...

, the latter moving over from

Antibes Antibes (, also , ; oc, label= Provençal, Antíbol) is a coastal city in the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France, on the Côte d'Azur between Cannes and Nice. The town of Juan-les-Pins is in the commune of Antibes and the Soph ...

in 1931. Marignane was also a production site for hydroplanes by

Lioré et Olivier Lioré-et-Olivier was a French manufacturer of aircraft of the 20th century, founded in 1912 by Fernand Lioré and Henri Olivier. History The ''Société de Constructions Aéronautiques d'hydravions Lioré-et-Olivier'' had three factories, loca ...

Antoine de Saint-Exupery Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French Guiana ...

describes turning back to Marignane airport with a fuel leak in chapter 8 of '' Wind, Sand and Stars'', before setting out again for Tunis, and the fateful event that informed his later description of the crash-landing in his best-known book, ''

The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (french: Le Petit Prince, ) is a novella by French aristocrat, writer, and military pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 and ...

''. In September 2006, the airport opened its new terminal MP2 for budget airlines. In 2013 the airport expanded its shopping and dining options, with 30 new shops and restaurants, among which is the first

Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based restaurant chain ...

restaurant in France since 1997.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Marseille Provence Airport:

Cargo

Statistics

It is the fifth busiest French airport by passenger traffic and third largest for cargo traffic. In 2012 the airport achieved the fourth highest European passenger traffic growth, at 12.7% with 8,295,479 passengers. Marseille Provence Airport serves as a

focus city An airline hub or hub airport is an airport used by one or more airlines to concentrate passenger traffic and flight operations. Hubs serve as transfer (or stop-over) points to help get passengers to their final destination. It is part of the ...

for

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global ai ...

. In summer 2013, the airport served 132 regular destinations, the largest offer in France after the Parisian airports.

Ground transportation

The airport is served by the Vitrolles Marseille Provence Airport rail station on the TER network. A public bus runs between the airport and the station.

Other facilities

* The airport is the main fixed wing base of

Sécurité Civile The (General directorate for civil defense and crisis management) is a civil defense agency of the French Government. It operates for the Ministry of the Interior and employs some 2,500 civilian and military personnel over 60 sites. Known as the ...

, the

aerial firefighting Aerial may refer to: Music * ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush * ''Aerials'' (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down Bands *Aerial (Canadian band) *Aerial (Scottish band) * Aerial (Swedish band) Performance art * Aerial silk ...

division of the

French Ministry of the Interior Minister of the Interior (french: Ministre de l'Intérieur; ) is a prominent position in the Government of France. The position is equivalent to the interior minister in other countries, like the Home Secretary in the United Kingdom, the Minist ...

.** This Sécurité Civile base has now moved to nearby Nîmes-Garons. * The head office of

Airbus Helicopters Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. Its head office is located at Marseille Provence Ai ...

is located on the airport property.Legal Notice and Disclaimer
."

Eurocopter Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. Its head office is located at Marseille Provence A ...

. Retrieved on 8 December 2010. " ..hose registered Office is located Aéroport International Marseille-Provence – 13725 Marignane Cedex – France".

Accidents and incidents

* On 4 February 1948, SNCASE Languedoc P/7 F-BATK of

was damaged beyond economical repair. * On 30 July 1950, SNCASE Languedoc P/7 F-BCUI of Air France was damaged beyond economic repair when its undercarriage collapsed on landing. * On 6 February 1989, Inter Cargo Service Flight 3132, operated by

Vickers Vanguard The Vickers Vanguard was a short/medium-range turboprop airliner designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs. The Vanguard was developed during the mid-to-late 1950s in response to a specification issued by ...

F-GEJE, crashed on takeoff. Three crew died; no passengers were on board. * On 26 December 1994, Air France Flight 8969, with 236 people aboard, arrived in Marseille after being hijacked by four young men of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) at

Houari Boumediene Airport Houari Boumediene International Airport ( ar, مطار هواري بومدين الدولي, Maṭār Hawwārī Būmadyan al-Duwaliyy) , also known as Algiers Airport or Algiers International Airport, is the main international airport serving ...

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

two days prior. After 15 hours on the ground and a breakdown in negotiations, the French special forces

GIGN The GIGN ( ; ) is the elite police tactical unit of the National Gendarmerie of France. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection (su ...

stormed the aircraft. In the ensuing firefight, all four hijackers were killed while three crew, 13 passengers, and nine GIGN operatives were injured. The Airbus A300B2-1C F-GBEC was written off.

References

External links

* Marseille Provence Airport, official site i
English
an
French

''Aéroport de Marseille-Provence''
page at ''Union des Aéroports Français'' * * {{Authority control Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command in the European Theater Airports established in 1922 Airports in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Buildings and structures in Marseille

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

1922 establishments in France