Airport Guide

History of Bordeaux Airport

As with many European airports, what is now Bordeaux Merignac Airport started out primarily as a military base, in 1917.

However, well before the start of the Second World War, it had established itself as a major base for international civilian flights, with Air France offering links to cities across Europe as well as north Africa.

During the war, it was used by the Luftwaffe as a base for reconnaissance flights, though once the conflict came to an end it swiftly returned to operating as an international civilian hub.

As a result, the French national carrier soon returned, although the US Air Force remained in attendance until the early 1960s.

Over the past few decades, Bordeaux Airport has increased in size considerably in line with steadily-rising passenger numbers, with the addition of new terminal buildings, a new control tower and improved runway and taxiing facilities introduced to match its status as France's sixth busiest airport.

Travelling to Bordeaux Airport

At present, the only public transport link between Bordeaux Airport and the historic city centre is that provided by regular shuttle buses.

The Jet'Bus shuttle departs from outside the main terminal building and carries passengers directly to the Bordeaux Saint-Jean railway station, from where they can also catch connections to other major French cities as well as the surrounding countryside.

At the same time, however, plans are in place to connect the Bordeaux urban tram system to the airport, though a precise date for the completion of this project has yet to be confirmed.

Those passengers looking to hire a car from the airport are able to drive easily into the city centre along the 11b of the A630 autoroute, again with excellent connections in place to the rest of south-west France.

Airlines Flying From Bordeaux Airport

At present, Air France operates the widest range of domestic and international flights to and from Bordeaux Airport.

The national carrier jets directly to Lyon and Paris, and to Ajaccio, Bastia, Barcelona, Lille, Lisbon, Malaga, Marseilles, Nantes, Rome and Strasburg through Regional.

Meanwhile, Air France flies to Nice through Brit Air.

At the same time, Ryanair also boasts a strong presence at the airport, offering cheap flights to Bologna, Brussels, Cork, Edinburgh and Porto.

Rival budget carrier easyJet flies to Bristol, Liverpool, London, Lyon and Milan, as well as to Basel and Geneva; Flybe flies to Birmingham and Southampton on a seasonal basis; Baboo jets to Geneva; and Climber Sterling to Copenhagen.

Other popular services include direct flights to Amsterdam and Madrid offered by KLM and Iberia respectively, bmibaby's services to Manchester and BA's flights to London.

In terms of longer-haul services, Air Algerie jets to Algiers and Oran, Air Transat to Montreal and Quebec, Jet4you to Casablanca, Royal Air Maroc to Casablanca and Marrakech, and Tunisair to Tunis.