Toulouse–Blagnac Airport (
French: Aéroport de Toulouse–Blagnac) (
IATA: TLS,
ICAO: LFBO) is an
international airport located 3.6
nautical miles (6.7 km; 4.1 mi) west northwest of
Toulouse, partially in
Blagnac, both communes of the
Haute-Garonnedepartment in the
Occitanie region of
France. In 2017, the airport served 9,264,611 passengers.[2] As of April 2017, the airport features flights to 74 destinations, mostly in Europe and Northern Africa with a few additional seasonal long-haul connections.[3]
Both
Airbus and
ATR manufacture aircraft at nearby facilities and test them from the airport.
The airport consists of one passenger terminal divided into four halls which provide 68 counters and 34 gates on 100,000-square-metre (1,100,000 sq ft) floor space:[5]
Hall A features 14 check-in counters and eight aircraft stands for regional aircraft on domestic services.
Hall B is the oldest area, opened in 1978, and contains 16 check-in counters and 10 gates.
Hall C is equipped with 24 counters and 6 boarding gates for European destinations.
Hall D is the newest addition to the airport, opened in 2010, and is used for international and long-haul services with 14 check-in counters and 10 boarding gates.
Runways
The airport is at an elevation of 499 feet (152 m) above
mean sea level. It has two
asphalt-paved
runways: 14R/32L is 3,500 by 45 metres (11,483 ft × 148 ft) and 14L/32R is 3,000 by 45 metres (9,843 ft × 148 ft).[1]
A
Concorde formerly operated by
Air France with the registration F-BVFC is preserved at the
Aeroscopia Museum near the airport.[citation needed] Airbus and ATR utilize runway 32L/14R for flight testing and delivery flights, while runway 32R/14L is used by commercial flights coming in to Toulouse (Airbus also uses this runway for formation flights).[citation needed] Also, the Airbus Delivery Center is on the runway 32L/14R side.
Ownership
Toulouse–Blagnac Airport SA is a limited liability company; the share capital is €148,000 and it has authority to operate the airport until 2046 under a franchise agreement awarded by the French government. The current CEO is
Philippe Crébassa.[6]
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Toulouse:[3]
Since April 2015, the T2 tram line connects Toulouse with the airport every 15 minutes.[49] The tram connects with metro ligne A at Arènes and metro ligne B at Palais de Justice. It takes about 35 minutes with a change to go to the city center by tram.
Bus and coach
Shuttle buses to Toulouse city centre stop outside Hall B every 20 minutes. Faster than the tram, they take approximately 20 minutes to reach the city centre, stopping at Compans-Caffarelli and Jeanne d'Arc (both on
Metro Line B), Jean Jaurès (
Metro Line A and B) and at
Toulouse-Matabiau railway station.[50] Three daily coach services[51] connect Toulouse–Blagnac Airport to
Andorra, which does not have its own commercial airport.
Accidents and incidents
On 29 January 1988, Inter Cargo Service Flight 1004, operated by
Vickers Vanguard F-GEJF, crashed when takeoff was attempted with only three fully operable engines.[52]
On 30 June 1994, an
Airbus A330-300 performing a
test flight crashed shortly after takeoff, due to a series of mistakes while conducting a flight test simulating an engine failure. All seven people on board died in the accident.[53]
On 15 November 2007, a brand-new
Airbus A340-600 due to be delivered to
Etihad Airways ran up and over the top of a concrete sloped blast-deflection wall during an engine test at the Airbus factory at the airport. This was due to the crew not following proper test procedures, raising all four engines to maximum thrust while the wheels were un-chocked. The attempt to steer away from the wall resulted in decreased braking power. Five people were injured and the aircraft was written off.[54][55]
^"F-WWCJ Final Report"(PDF). Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'aviation civile.
Archived(PDF) from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2014.