Airport Guide

History of Nice Cote d'Azur Airport

Following on from the air shows of the early 1900s, the first flights from Nice took off in 1918, with direct services to the island of Corsica.

However, it was not until the Second World War started that developments really began, with the airport being taken over by the military and a hard-surface runway introduced.

Following the end of hostilities, national carrier Air France started operating popular domestic flights between Nice and Paris, with this service followed by a number of domestic and international short-haul routes, taking passenger numbers past the one million a year mark by the 1960s.

The dawn of the package holiday age meant that major extension work was needed for Nice Airport to grow to cope with rising passenger demand, as well as with the jumbo jets that carried sun-seekers into the heart of the Cote d'Azur.

By reclaiming land by back-filling the sea, the airport's operators were able to open a new runway in 1978, followed by a new terminal in 1987.

More recently, a number of new improvements have been made in order to cope with the rise in passenger numbers caused by the bargain flights revolution, while a heliport is also in place to serve the nearby city-state of Monaco.

Travelling to Nice Cote d'Azur Airport

With the international airport located just four miles south-west of the city centre, access between the terminal buildings and downtown Nice is both easy and relatively cheap.

For example, regular bus services leave from outside the terminal, whisking passengers not only to Nice, but also to nearby Monaco, Cannes, Menton, Aix, Antibes, Menton and Golfe Juan.

In addition, just a 15 minute walk from Terminal 1, the airport's SNCF train station also offers direct links into the city centre, as well as to the rest of the south of France.

Airlines Flying From Nice Cote d'Azur Airport

The airline with the longest-standing presence at Nice Airport, Air France, still offers direct flights to Paris, in addition to domestic services to Lyon, Bordeaux, Brest, Strasbourg and Caen, as well as international services to Tunis.

The national carrier is joined by a number of its flag-flying European counterparts, including Alitalia, which flies to Rome; Austrian Airlines which flies to Vienna; and Aer Lingus and British Airways, which offer direct flights to Dublin and London respectively.

Iberia operates regular services to both Madrid and Barcelona, Lufthansa flies to Frankfurt and Munich, KLM to Amsterdam and LOT Polish Airlines to Warsaw.

Over recent years, these big carriers have been joined by a number of low-cost airlines, including easyJet, which now has the biggest single presence at Nice, flying to around a dozen European destinations, including Belfast, Berlin, Bristol, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Rome.

Additionally, Climber Sterling flies to Billund and Copenhagen and Jet2.com offers direct services to Leeds/Bradford and Manchester.

Going further afield, Middle East Airlines flies to Beirut, Royal Air Maroc to both Casablanca and Marrakech, Israir Airlines to Tel Aviv and Emirates to Dubai.

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