Departure
92%
vs 95% ▼ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport lies in the foothills of the Pyrenees between the towns of Tarbes and Lourdes, a controlled aerodrome with full instrument approach facilities that handles scheduled and charter traffic, much of it carrying pilgrims bound for Lourdes. For the visiting simulator pilot it offers a substantial hard runway, radar and tower services, and an ILS approach, set against a dramatic mountain backdrop.
Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport serves the twin towns of Tarbes and Lourdes in the Hautes-Pyrénées département of Occitanie. It is a public airport capable of handling large aircraft, including the Boeing 747, and is notable both for its role as the gateway for Catholic pilgrims travelling to the Lourdes shrine and for its industrial connections, being home to the Daher light-aircraft factory that builds the TBM turboprop and to Tarmac Aerosave's aircraft storage and recycling operation. For a visiting pilot it combines a long, well-equipped runway with the scenic appeal of the nearby Pyrenean foothills.
The airport sits about 9 km south-southwest of Tarbes and roughly midway between Tarbes and Lourdes, in the Hautes-Pyrénées département of Occitanie, France. It is a controlled aerodrome with its own approach, tower and ground services, reflecting its status as a regional airport handling scheduled and charter airline traffic.
The airport has a single paved, lit hard-surface runway aligned 02/20. Runway 20 is 9,837 ft long and equipped with ILS; runway 02 is 7,642 ft long. Field elevation is 1,204 ft.
Air traffic services are provided by Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées under the callsign PYRENEES. Published frequencies are APP 120.3 MHz, APP 121.175 MHz, ATIS 125.95 MHz, GND 121.8 MHz and TWR 119.05 MHz. An ILS is available for runway 20.
Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport was established in 1948. It grew into the busiest airport in the Midi-Pyrénées after Toulouse, largely on the strength of traffic to Lourdes, one of the world's most visited Catholic pilgrimage sites, with many arriving passengers continuing on to the shrine and its basilicas. The airfield also became closely associated with French aviation industry, hosting the Daher factory that produces the TBM single-engine turboprop, and with Tarmac Aerosave, which operates aircraft storage, maintenance and recycling facilities on the field as part of one of the largest such storage networks in Europe.
The airport continues to handle scheduled and charter flights from across Europe, including services operated by Ryanair and Volotea, and remains capable of accepting large aircraft such as the Boeing 747. Alongside passenger operations, the airfield hosts the Daher light-aircraft manufacturing plant and Tarmac Aerosave's aircraft storage and recycling operation, giving the field a distinctive mix of civil airline movements, factory traffic and stored airliners visible around the apron.