Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport

Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport (French: Aéroport de Bordeaux-Mérignac) (IATA: BOD, ICAO: LFBD) is an international airport of Bordeaux, in southwestern France. It is situated in the commune of Mérignac, 12 km (7.5 mi) west of Bordeaux, within the département of the Gironde. It mainly features flights to metropolitan and leisure destinations in Europe, Northern Africa, and Canada, and serves as a base for easyJet and Volotea.^[4]

Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport Aéroport de Bordeaux-Mérignac
IATA: BOD ICAO: LFBD
Summary
Airport type	Public / Military
Owner/Operator	Aéroport de Bordeaux Mérignac (SA ADBM)
Serves	Bordeaux
Location	Mérignac, Gironde, France
Opened	1912; 112 years ago (1912)[1]
Operating base for	easyJet[2] Volotea
Elevation AMSL	162 ft / 49 m
Coordinates	44°49′42″N 000°42′56″W
Website	www.bordeaux.aeroport.fr
Map
BOD/LFBD Location of airport in Nouvelle-Aquitaine Show map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine BOD/LFBD BOD/LFBD (France) Show map of France
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 05/23 3,100 10,171 Asphalt 11/29 2,415 7,923 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Passengers 7,703,143 Passenger traffic change 13.3%
Sources: Statistics[3]

History

The former control tower in 1964.

A British Eagle Viscount at Bordeaux Airport in 1964.

The control tower built in 2000.

Foundation and early years

Bordeaux Airport has been founded in 1912, after the French government purchased previously privately owned land. Its first non-temporary passenger terminal had been constructed in the early 1930s.^[1]

KG 40, the prime land-based maritime patrol Luftwaffe unit was primarily based at Bordeaux-Mérignac during the Occupation of France in World War II.^[5]

The airport underwent major expansion and refurbishment during the 1960s. The first scheduled flights to Paris were operated by Air Inter in 1962 and by 1970, Bordeaux handled over 500,000 passengers. During the 70s and by 1986, the terminal building has again been expanded significantly. By 1987, it reached a capacity of 2,000,000 passengers per year.^[1]

Development since the 1990s

From 1994-1996 an entirely new passenger terminal was built dedicated to frequent services on the Bordeaux-Paris route, followed by a new air traffic control tower in 2000. In 2010, another terminal expansion to be used by low-cost carriers was inaugurated - by 2014, these were responsible for 40 percent of the airport's traffic.^[1]

In 2017, Bordeaux surpassed 6 million passengers a year for the first time.^[1]

In May 2024, Ryanair announced it will be leaving Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport citing fee increases, leading to the termination of 40 routes.^[6] The airline will cease operations at the airport by November 2024.^[7][8]

Terminals

Bordeaux Airport has three passenger buildings:

• Terminal A is mainly for international flights.^[9]
• Terminal B, which had been inaugurated in 1996, has two levels and is principally dedicated to Air France traffic between Paris and Bordeaux.^[10][1]
• Terminal billi, built in 2010 and expanded in 2015, is a separate facility for low cost carriers. It has one floor and has small check-in and arrivals areas as well as a departures area with six aircraft parking positions which are used for walk boarding.^[11][1] User of Terminal billi is easyJet.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights from Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport:^[12]

Airlines	Destinations
Aegean Airlines	Seasonal: Athens, Heraklion[13]
Aer Lingus	Dublin
Air Algérie	Algiers, Oran
Air Arabia	Fès, Tangier[14]
Air France	Lyon,[15] Paris–Charles de Gaulle[16] Seasonal: Ajaccio, Calvi, Figari, Nice
Air Transat	Seasonal: Montréal–Trudeau
British Airways	London–Gatwick[17][18]
Brussels Airlines	Seasonal: Brussels[19][20]
Chalair Aviation	Brest
Corsair International	Seasonal: Pointe-à-Pitre
easyJet	Athens,[21] Basel/Mulhouse, Copenhagen, Essaouira,[22] Faro, Geneva, Lanzarote,[23] Lille, Lisbon, London–Gatwick, Lyon, Marrakesh, Marseille, Milan–Malpensa, Nice, Porto,[24] Rabat,[25] Rome–Fiumicino (begins 21 February 2025),[26] Tenerife–South, Zurich[27] Seasonal: Ajaccio, Bastia, Belfast–International, Berlin, Bristol, Catania, Funchal,[28] Glasgow, Heraklion, Ibiza, London–Luton, Manchester, Menorca,[29] Olbia,[30] Palma de Mallorca, Rhodes, Rovaniemi (begins 30 November 2024),[31][32] Toulon[33]
Iberia	Madrid[34]
KLM	Amsterdam[35]
Lufthansa	Frankfurt Seasonal: Munich[36]
Luxair	Seasonal: Luxembourg[37]
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Seasonal: Copenhagen,[38] Oslo
Nouvelair	Djerba,[39] Tunis[40]
Royal Air Maroc	Casablanca
Swiss International Air Lines	Zurich[41][42]
Transavia	Agadir (begins 14 December 2024),[43] Istanbul (begins 12 December 2024),[44] Marrakesh (begins 13 December 2024),[45] Marseille (begins 13 December 2024),[46] Porto (begins 13 December 2024),[47] Seville (begins 12 December 2024)[48] Seasonal: Dakar–Diass,[49] Eindhoven,[50] Faro (begins 7 July 2025)[51]
TUI fly Belgium[52]	Seasonal: Oujda[53]
Tunisair	Tunis[54]
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul[55]
Volotea	Algiers,[56] Athens,[57] Barcelona (begins 20 February 2025),[58] Düsseldorf,[59] Florence, Hamburg,[59] Lille,[60] Málaga, Nice, Oran, Rome–Fiumicino, Strasbourg,[61] Stuttgart,[59] Tenerife–South, Venice, Verona Seasonal: Ajaccio, Bastia, Cagliari, Calvi,[62] Charleroi (begins 21 February 2025),[63] Corfu, Dubrovnik, Figari, Heraklion,[64] Lanzarote, Madrid,[65] Marrakesh,[66] Olbia, Palma de Mallorca, Santorini, Split
Vueling	Barcelona[67]

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at BOD airport. See Wikidata query.

Ground transport

Bordeaux Tramway Line A at the airport

Road

The airport is accessible by road via the A630 autoroute (exit 11b). There is a shuttle by 30'Direct shuttle serving the Bordeaux Saint-Jean railway station. Bus route 1+ of Transports Bordeaux Métropole serves the city centre.

Tram

Bordeaux tramway's Line A links the airport with the city centre since the end of April 2023.^[68][69][70]

Accidents and incidents

• On 30 July 1997, Air Littoral Flight 1919, an Embraer EMB 120RT Brasilia registered as F-GEGH, crashed during approach to the airport, killing all 16 occupants onboard.^[71]

See also

• United States Air Force in France

References

1. bordeaux.aeroport.fr - The history of the airport retrieved 28 September 2024
2. "easyJet Media Centre". Mediacentre.easyjet.com. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
3. "Bilan 2019, une année record pour le trafic international - Aéroport de Bordeaux-Mérignac". www.bordeaux.aeroport.fr. 16 January 2020.
4. "BOD Airlines Bases". Bordeaux.Aeroport.fr. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
5. Wood, Tony; Gunston, Bill (1977). Hitler's Luftwaffe. New York: Crescent Books. pp. 64–69&170–171. ISBN 0-517-22477-1.
6. "connexionfrance.com - UK-France flights hit as Ryanair announces it is leaving Bordeaux airport". 15 May 2024.
7. "Ryanair announces it is leaving Bordeaux airport". 15 May 2024.
8. "ryanair.com".
9. "Hall A - Bordeaux Mérignac Airport | Ingérop". Ingerop.fr. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
10. "Réalisations". ADPI. Archived from the original on 12 August 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
11. "Terminal billi Bordeaux illico | Bordeaux-Merignac Airport". Bordeaux.aeroport.fr. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
12. "All flights from Bordeaux". Bordeaux-Merignac Airport. 3 September 2022.
13. "Aegean Airlines NS24 Animawings A320 Operations".
14. "Air Arabia Maroc NW24 Network Additions".
15. "Air France NW24 Europe Frequency Changes – 27OCT24". Aeroroutes. Aeroroutes. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
16. "Air France NW22 Paris CDG Europe Frequency Variations – 23OCT22". Aeroroutes.
17. "British Airways Announces Routes and Starts Selling Seats for ITS New Gatwick Short-Haul Subsidiary".
18. "BA EuroFlyer NW24 Europe Frequency Changes – 27OCT24". Aeroroutes. Aeroroutes. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
19. brusselsairlines.com - Destinations retrieved 11 January 2023
20. "Brussels Airlines NS23 European Network Adjustment – 18DEC22". Aeroroutes.
21. "easyJet apre 7 rotte per l'estate 2024". 16 January 2024.
22. "EASYJET NS23 NETWORK ADDITIONS – 11DEC22". Aeroroutes. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
23. "Lanzarote (Arrecife)". Aéroport de Bordeaux Mérignac.
24. "Porto". Aéroport de Bordeaux Mérignac.
25. "easyJet NW24 Network Additions – 14SEP24". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
26. "EasyJet annuncia 60 nuove rotte per la prossima stagione. 10 da e per l'Italia. 6 da Napoli". 11 June 2024.
27. "Fünf neue Easyjet-Ziele ab der Schweiz". 11 June 2024.
28. "easyJet NS24 Network Additions – 10DEC23". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
29. "Mahon (Minorque)". Aéroport de Bordeaux Mérignac.
30. "Du nouveau avec easyJet : 4 destinations supplémentaires - Aéroport de Bordeaux-Mérignac". www.bordeaux.aeroport.fr. 4 December 2019.
31. "EasyJet to open six new routes to Rovaniemi Airport | Finavia".
32. "EasyJet to connect Rovaniemi with Bordeaux, Lyon, and Nice and three other cities this winter". 21 June 2024.
33. "Infos de l'aérien : Cyprus Airways, Air Corsica, ITA Airways, Resaneo, Air France-KLM, Emirates, etc". www.laquotidienne.fr.
34. "Qatar Airways Expands Iberia Codeshare From June 2022". Aeroroutes.
35. "KLM/SAS Begins Codeshare Service From Sep 2024". Aeroroutes.
36. "Lufthansa City Schedules Bordeaux / Hamburg Service from late-July 2024".
37. "Luxair: Official Site – Book Direct Flights to 90+ Destinations from 89€".
38. Miguens, Agustín (17 November 2022). "Summer 2023: Norwegian launches more than twenty new routes from Denmark and Norway". Aviacionline.com.
39. "Nouvelair Tunisie NS23 Network Additions". AeroRoutes.
40. "Nouvelair Tunisie Adds Tunis – Bordeaux Service in April 2023".
41. swiss.com - Flights to Bordeaux retrieved 3 September 2022
42. "SWISS NW24 Europe Frequency Changes – 26MAY24". Aeroroutes. Aeroroutes. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
43. "Transavia se développe à Bordeaux et en Arabie Saoudite". 25 June 2024.
44. "Transavia se développe à Bordeaux et en Arabie Saoudite". 25 June 2024.
45. "Transavia se développe à Bordeaux et en Arabie Saoudite". 25 June 2024.
46. "Transavia se développe à Bordeaux et en Arabie Saoudite". 25 June 2024.
47. "Transavia se développe à Bordeaux et en Arabie Saoudite". 25 June 2024.
48. "Transavia se développe à Bordeaux et en Arabie Saoudite". 25 June 2024.
49. "NEW: Transavia France announces the opening of a direct Bordeaux - Dakar route | Bordeaux-Merignac Airport". 26 April 2023.
50. "Transavia verbindt Eindhoven met Bordeaux" [Transavia connects Eindhoven to Bordeaux]. nieuws.eindhovenairport.nl (in Dutch). 21 September 2022. Archived from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
51. "Transavia France NS25 Network Additions – 22OCT24". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
52. "Flight plan". tui.be. Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
53. "Flight Bordeaux to Oujda - Flight ticket Bordeaux to Oujda".
54. tunisair.com - Schedule retrieved 3 September 2022
55. turkishairlines.com - Flights to Bordeaux retrieved 3 September 2022
56. "VOLOTEA - Destinations". 3 April 2022.
57. "Volotea announces three new routes from greece to France". 12 January 2022.
58. Liu, Jim (27 September 2024). "Volotea Adds Bordeaux – Barcelona From late-Feb 2025". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
59. "Volotea s'alia amb Eurowings i llança vuit noves rutes amb Alemanya". ON ECONOMIA. 15 February 2023.
60. "Aéroport de Lille : Volotea ouvre une ligne vers Bordeaux le 17 décembre | la Gazette Nord-Pas de Calais".
61. "Volotea adds a new route linking Strasbourg with London Gatwick". Archived from the original on 19 July 2023.
62. "VOLOTEA - Vuelos baratos, ofertas y billetes de avión a Europa". Volotea. 6 March 2023.
63. "New route for Volotea departing from Brussels South Charleroi Airport: The airline will be flying to Bordeaux from 21 February 2025". 16 October 2024.
64. "News for Airlines, Airports and the Aviation Industry | CAPA". centreforaviation.com.
65. "Volotea NW24 Network Additions – 11AUG24".
66. "Volotea NW24 Network Additions – 11AUG24".
67. vueling.com - Flights from Bordeaux retrieved 3 September 2022
68. "Bordeaux : Extension du tramway a jusqu'à l'aéroport | Air Journal". 30 April 2023.
69. "Bordeaux Airport - Tram connection confirmed". Bordeaux Expats. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
70. Yves Maugue (29 April 2016). "Bordeaux : voici le tracé du tramway qui va desservir l'aéroport" (in French). Retrieved 20 July 2016.
71. "Air Littoral | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives". www.baaa-acro.com. Retrieved 30 September 2024.

External links

Media related to Bordeaux - Mérignac Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Aéroport de Bordeaux (Union des Aéroports Français) (in French)
• Accident history for BOD at Aviation Safety Network