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. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

located 27 km (17 miles) northwest of

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, on the territory of

Marignane Marignane (; ) 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 city of Marsei ...

, both ''

communes A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

'' of the

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' in the

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (commonly shortened to PACA), also known as Région Sud, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France, located at the far southeastern point of the Metropolitan France, mainland. The main P ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

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

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

and from

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, 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 Communes of France, commune had a ...

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 more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...

''Clipper'' flying boats. Other flying boat operators were Aéropostale and Air Union, the latter moving over from

Antibes Antibes (, , ; ) is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Ca ...

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

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, vicomte de Saint-Exupéry (29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), known simply as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ), was a French writer, poet, journalist and aviator. Born in Lyon to an French nobility, aristocratic ...

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'' (, ) is a novella written and illustrated by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 and was published po ...

''. 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 Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...

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 (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...

. 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 was the main fixed wing base of

Sécurité Civile The (General directorate for civil defense and crisis management) is a civil defense agency of the Government of France, French Government. It operates for the Minister of the Interior (France), Ministry of the Interior and employs some 2,500 civ ...

, the

aerial firefighting Aerial firefighting, also known as waterbombing, is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to Wildfire suppression, combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers ar ...

division of the French Ministry of the Interior.** This Sécurité Civile base has now moved to nearby Nîmes-Garons. * The head office of

Airbus Helicopters Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter S.A., trading as Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries, holding 48% of the wo ...

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

Eurocopter Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter S.A., trade name, trading as Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturer, helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopte ...

. 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 F-GEJE, crashed on takeoff. Three crew died; no passengers were on board. * On 26 December 1994,

Air France Flight 8969 Air France Flight 8969 (Operation Rock Climber) was an Air France flight that was hijacked on 24 December 1994 by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA) at Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers. The militants murdered three passengers and the ...

, 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 () , also known as Algiers Airport or Algiers International Airport, is the main international airport serving Algiers, the capital of Algeria. It is located east southeast of the city. The airport is n ...

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, 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 French National Gendarmerie. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection (such ...

stormed the aircraft. In the ensuing firefight, all four hijackers were killed while three crew, 13 passengers, and 9 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 Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

1922 establishments in France