Departure
98%
vs 95% ▲ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport is a major international airport in southwestern France, standing on the western edge of the city it serves, in the commune of Mérignac. Home to two long asphalt runways and full ATC service, it is a busy dual-use civil and military field with roots stretching back to 1912, making it a substantial and instructive stop for any simulator pilot flying into the Bordeaux area.
Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (ICAO: LFBD, IATA: BOD) is the principal airport serving Bordeaux, operated by Aéroport de Bordeaux Mérignac (SA ADBM). It began life as a public airfield in 1912 and has since grown into a large international gateway with a military heritage, today serving as an operating base for easyJet and Volotea. For a simulator pilot, its combination of two long hard runways, full radar and tower control, and an ILS on both main approach directions make it a realistic and busy destination typical of a regional French hub.
The airport lies in the commune of Mérignac, in the Gironde département of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, about 12 km (7.5 mi) west of Bordeaux city centre. It is a controlled aerodrome with its own approach, tower and ground services, sitting within the airspace organised around Bordeaux under the Aquitaine approach and information services.
Bordeaux-Mérignac has two paired hard-surfaced runways. Runway 05/23 is the longer of the two at 10,170 ft (3,100 m), lit, with an ILS available on the 23 approach. Runway 11/29 measures 7,922 ft (2,415 m), also lit, with an ILS on the 29 approach. Field elevation is 154 ft.
Air traffic services are provided under the callsign Aquitaine, with Aquitaine Approach on 118.6 MHz and an additional arrival frequency on 121.2 MHz. The tower operates on 118.3 MHz and ground movements on 121.9 MHz. The airport broadcasts ATIS on 131.15 MHz, and Aquitaine Information is available on 120.575 MHz, with an operations frequency on 143.175 MHz. Both main runway directions, 23 and 29, are served by ILS approaches.
Bordeaux Airport was founded in 1912 after the French government purchased land that had previously been privately owned, with its first permanent passenger terminal built in the early 1930s. During the Occupation of France in the Second World War, the airfield was the main base of KG 40, the Luftwaffe's principal land-based maritime patrol unit. Post-war growth saw Air Inter begin scheduled flights to Paris in 1962, and by 1970 the airport was handling over 500,000 passengers a year. Terminal expansion through the 1970s and 1980s pushed capacity to two million passengers annually by 1987. A new dedicated terminal for the Bordeaux-Paris route was built between 1994 and 1996, followed by a new air traffic control tower in 2000. A low-cost terminal opened in 2010 and was expanded in 2015, and by 2017 the airport had surpassed six million passengers a year for the first time. In May 2024 Ryanair announced it would end operations at Bordeaux-Mérignac over fee increases, withdrawing around 40 routes and ceasing all flights by November 2024.
Bordeaux-Mérignac remains a busy international airport, serving as an operating base for easyJet and Volotea alongside a wide range of other scheduled carriers operating to destinations across Europe, North Africa and beyond. It retains a dual civil and military character rooted in its wartime history.
