Beauvais–Tillé Airport
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Beauvais–Tillé Airport (; ) , branded as Paris-Beauvais 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 ...
near the city of
Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris. The Communes of France, commune o ...
in the commune of Tillé in France. In 2016, it was the tenth busiest airport in France, handling 3,997,856 passengers, and is mostly used by charter and low-cost airlines. Despite its brand name, the airport is located in the
Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; ; ), also referred to in English as Upper France, is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. ...
region and north-northwest of
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
.


History


German use during World War II

This airport was built in the 1930s and seized by the Germans in June 1940 during the
Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...
. Beauvais was used as a
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
military airfield during the occupation. Known units assigned (all from Luftflotte 3, Fliegerkorps IV): * Kampfgeschwader 76 (KG 76) June – 24 October 1940
Dornier Do 17 The Dornier Do 17 is a twin-engined light bomber designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Dornier Flugzeugwerke. Large numbers were operated by the ''Luftwaffe'' throughout the Second World War. The Do 17 was designed during ...
Z-2 (Fuselage Code: F1+) * Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 (SKG 1) July 1940
Junkers Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87, popularly known as the "Stuka", is a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the ...
B Stuka The initial German use of the airport was as a bomber base. kg 76 and SKG 1 both took part in the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
. kg 76 was reduced to 19 out of 29 serviceable machines by 18 August 1940. kg 76 raided London on 7 and 15 September 1940. * Kampfgeschwader 26 (KG 26) September 1940 – February 1941 Heinkel He 111H (Fuselage Code: 1H+) * Kampfgeschwader 77 (KG 77) 3–22 March 1941 Junkers Ju 88A-1 (Fuselage Code: 3A+) * Kampfgeschwader 4 (KG 4) 30 June – 19 July 1941 Heinkel He 111H (Fuselage Code: 5J+) * Kampfgeschwader 54 (KG 54) 9 July – 16 August 1942 Junkers Ju 88A-1 (Fuselage Code: B3+) * Kampfgeschwader 6 (KG 6) December 1942 – February 1943 Junkers Ju 88A-1 (Fuselage Code: K6+) With the Luftwaffe switching to night attacks on England, the badly damaged units at Beauvais were replaced by a series of He 111 and Ju 88A units that carried out anti-shipping missions (KG 26, KG 77) and night bombing missions over England (KG 4, KG 54, KG 6). * Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26) 15 August – 3 October 1943
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (Shrike) is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the ...
A * Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1) 6–30 June 1944
Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...
G The increasing number and frequency of USAAF Eighth Air Force
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...
and
Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...
daylight heavy bomber raids over occupied Europe and Germany made the Luftwaffe move out the bomber units and assign day interceptor fighter units to attack the American bombers as part of the Defense of the Reich. After the
invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...
, elements of JG 1 were moved to France and were tasked with providing air support to the German army, along with their normal air defense role against Allied bombers. In response to the interceptor attacks, Beauvais was attacked by USAAF Ninth Air Force
Martin B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in ...
medium bombers and
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...
fighter-bombers with 500-pound general-purpose bombs, unguided rockets and .50 caliber machine gun sweeps when Eighth Air Force heavy bombers were within interception range of the Luftwaffe aircraft assigned to the base. The attacks were timed to have the maximum effect possible to keep the interceptors pinned down on the ground and be unable to attack the heavy bombers. Also the North American P-51 Mustang fighter-escort groups of Eighth Air Force would drop down on their return to England and attack the base with a fighter sweep.


American use

It was liberated by Allied ground forces about 3 September 1944 during the Northern France Campaign. Almost immediately, the
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
IX Engineer Command 818th Engineer Aviation Battalion cleared the airport of mines and destroyed Luftwaffe aircraft. Little battle damage was sustained, and the airport became a USAAF Ninth Air Force combat airfield, designated as Advanced Landing Ground "A-61" about 15 September, also being known as "Beauvais/Tille Airfield". From Beauvais, the Ninth Air Force 322d Bombardment Group flew B-26 Marauder medium bombers from mid-September until March 1945.Maurer Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. . Once the combat unit moved east, the airport was used by transport units, flying in supplies from England and evacuating combat casualties on the return trip. The Americans returned full control of the airport to French authorities on 17 August 1945.


Development since the 1950s

In 1950, the Air Ministry offered to provide the wartime air base to
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
as part of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
development of the alliance. Demolition crews arrived and removed the wartime wreckage, and any unexploded munitions were removed from the site. Funding shortages did not allow the construction of an jet runway, dispersal pads and other features found at a modern military airfield. Instead, in 1953, the NATO plans for Beauvais were discontinued and the airport was returned to private hands.


Facilities


Control tower

The new control tower is active since 22 January 2019. It is located on the southern side of the airport and is replacing the one of 1962, sitting between the two terminals.


Runway

The main runway has an Instrument landing system CAT III for runway 12 and CAT I for runway 30 plus a
Precision Approach Path Indicator A precision approach path indicator (PAPI) is a system of Electric light, lights on the side of an airport runway threshold that provides visual descent (aircraft), descent guidance information during final approach. It is generally located on ...
(PAPI) for both runways. This enables aircraft to land at the airport in bad weather conditions, with visibility as low as 75 metres.


Terminal

When the low-cost airline
Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...
chose Beauvais–Tillé in May 1997 for three daily connections with
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, the terminal of this regional airport consisted of a simple hangar built in 1979. Since then four additional stations for planes and in 2010 a second terminal of had to be built to face a significant increase in traffic. The airport is equipped to handle medium-sized passenger jets. Since 2007 the ban on night flying has been strictly enforced for the benefit of local residents. The terminal building closes between the hours of 23:30 and 06:30. The airport has two terminals, some restaurants, snack bars, and shopping areas, both airside and in the publicly accessible area. An Ibis Budget hotel, which provides 78 rooms, has been built next to Terminal 2.


Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Beauvais–Tillé Airport:


Statistics


Passengers


Movements


Access


Road transport

The airport is linked with Paris city through coach and rail services. Travel time to Paris is 75 minutes by coach which drops off and collects passengers beside the Palais des Congrès at Porte Maillot, located in the 17th arrondissement, approximately a kilometre west of the
Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Plac ...
. There are also
minibus A minibus, microbus, or minicoach is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is us ...
and shuttle services that go to Paris. There is also a
taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
rank at the airport. A commuter bus provided by the Transports Urbains du Beauvaisis runs to Beauvais town centre: *Line 12: Mairie – Zone d'activités des Tilleuls – Tillé – Aéroport *Airport Shuttle: Airport – Parc Municipal – Maillart – Cathédrale – Mairie (City Hall) – Gare SNCF (railway station) – Kennedy – Descartes – Délie – Saint-Germain – Elispace – Airport


Railway connection

Beauvais railway station is situated almost away, with connections to Paris
Gare du Nord The Gare du Nord (; ), officially Paris Nord, is one of the seven large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. The station is served by trains that run between the capital and northern France via the Paris–Lille railway, as well ...
,
Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...
and other destinations.


See also

* Advanced Landing Ground *
List of the busiest airports in France Below is a list of the busiest airports in France, including its Overseas France, overseas departments and territories. Graphics Metropolitan France Overseas France 2018 2014 Source 2013 SourceWayback Machine 2012 SourceWayback Mac ...


References


External links


Official website

''Aéroport de Beauvais – Tillé''
at ''Union des Aéroports Français'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beauvais-Tille Airport Airports in Hauts-de-France Buildings and structures in Beauvais World War II airfields in France Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in France Airports established in 1937