Airport type Public Serves Lyon, France Elevation AMSL 821 ft / 250 m Elevation 250 m Passenger count 9,553,250 | Owner Aéroport de Lyon Location Colombier-Saugnieu Code LYS Phone +33 826 80 08 26 | |
 | ||
Focus city for Aigle Azur
Air France
EasyJet
HOP!
Transavia France
Twin Jet Address 69125 Colombier-Saugnieu, France Similar Gare de Lyon‑Part‑Dieu, Gare de Lyon‑Perrache, Gare de Lyon Saint‑Exupéry, Place Bellecour, Parc de la Tête d'Or Profiles | ||
Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport (French: Aéroport de Lyon-Saint-Exupéry) (IATA: LYS, ICAO: LFLL), formerly known as Lyon Satolas Airport, is the international airport of Lyon, the third-biggest city in France and an important transport facility for the entire Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It lies in Colombier-Saugnieu, 11 nautical miles (20 km; 13 mi) southeast of Lyon city centre.
Contents
Early years
The airport was inaugurated by President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing on 12 April 1975 and opened to passengers a week later. It was designed to replace the old Lyon–Bron Airport which could not be extended as it was located in an urban area.
In 1994 the LGV Rhône-Alpes high-speed rail line brought TGV service to the airport, providing direct trains to Paris and Marseille. The fan-shaped canopy of the Gare de Lyon Saint-Exupéry, designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, is the airport's most notable architectural feature.
Since 1997, the airport has been a focus city for the airline Air France.
Development since the 2000s
The airport was originally named Lyon Satolas Airport, but in 2000 the airport and train station were renamed in honour of Lyonnais aviation pioneer and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, on the centenary of his birth. He was a native of Lyon, and a laureate of the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française, and died in World War II.
In 2013, the airport served 8,562,298 passengers, an increase of 1.3% over the previous year. Air freight increased by 22.7% to 44,820 tonnes, although overall aircraft movements dropped by 2.8% to 113,420.
Facilities
The airport consists of three terminals and two runways aligned north–south. The airport has 18 jetways in terminals 1 & 2. Terminal 3 is used by low-cost airlines and has very basic facilities. With its three terminals, the airport has a capacity of 9.6 million passengers.
In 2014, Aéroports De Lyon started the construction of a new terminal, which will double the capacity and the area, with 70,000 m². It is planned to be opened by 2017, and could accommodate the Airbus A380. Terminal 3 should be demolished after the completion. Four groups took part in the tender process to design and develop Terminal 1. The bid was won by the GFC Construction company in partnership with Quille Construction (Bouygues) and Bouygues Energies & Services. The architectural practice was Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners led by Graham Stirk, Chabanne and Partners, engineers Technip TPS and Cap Ingélec, and Inddigo.
A total of 16,000 car spaces in 6 car parks are available. Two of the parks are underground, but the long-stay parks are located at a distance of more than 1 km from the terminals, thus a free bus shuttle service runs 24/7.
Rail
The Rhônexpress tramway began operations in August 2010 and links the TGV railway station of Lyon Part-Dieu with the Gare de Lyon Saint-Exupéry in less than 30 minutes (€15 single in 2013). This new tramway replaced the coach shuttle services (Satobus) that operated beforehand.
Coach
Coach links connect the airport with the centre of Lyon and other towns in the area including Grenoble (at least once an hour) and Chambéry. Bus operators also offer a coach shuttle service to Place Bellecour and the surrounding French ski resorts, including Tignes, Val d'Isere, Val Thorens and more.