Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Châteauroux-Déols "Marcel Dassault" Airport is a large former military airfield in the Indre department of Centre-Val de Loire, France, now given over largely to aircraft maintenance, storage and cargo work. Its very long single runway and ILS approach make it a striking destination for simulator pilots, offering plenty of room and a strong sense of the site's Cold War past as a major USAF installation.
Châteauroux-Déols "Marcel Dassault" Airport lies at Déols, just outside Châteauroux in the Indre department of Centre-Val de Loire. Named after the aircraft manufacturer Marcel Dassault, it occupies the site of the former Châteauroux-Déols Air Base and today functions chiefly as a centre for aircraft maintenance, storage, painting and dismantling, alongside pilot training and occasional charter passenger flights. For the simulator pilot it is notable above all for its exceptionally long runway, its instrument approach, and the sheer scale of the ramps and hangars that reflect its industrial aviation role.
The airport sits in Déols, a commune of the Indre department, close to Châteauroux itself. It is a controlled aerodrome with its own air traffic services, and approach control in the area is provided by Poitiers Approach.
The airfield has a single physical runway, 03/21, a hard-surfaced strip of 11,482 feet with runway lighting. The 21 threshold is served by an ILS approach, making it usable in poorer weather as well as for the very large aircraft that operate from the field.
Radio services are provided under the callsign Châteauroux, with Châteauroux Info (AFIS) and Châteauroux Tower both operating on 125.875 MHz. Poitiers Approach handles arrivals on 130.9 MHz. The runway 21 approach is supported by an ILS.
The airfield stands on the site of the former Châteauroux-Déols Air Base, which for a period served as a United States Air Force installation comprising two separate facilities roughly five miles apart, the Châteauroux-Déols Air Depot and La Martinerie Airdrome; the base was home to around 8,000 Americans between 1951 and 1967. In more recent decades, between 1990 and 2000, the airport was used regularly by Air France and British Airways to train future pilots and flight crews for Concorde. The airport takes its current name in honour of the aircraft manufacturer Marcel Dassault.
Châteauroux-Déols today is dedicated primarily to air freight, aeronautical maintenance and pilot training, including training for airport firefighters. Its extensive maintenance area, known as the Chateauroux Air Center, hosts companies engaged in airliner maintenance, storage, painting, cargo conversion and aircraft dismantling and recycling, serving aircraft types up to the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747. The airport also operates as a cargo hub without slot restrictions, handling freight around the clock, and since 2020 has served as one of France's pelicandrome bases for Canadair and Q400 firefighting aircraft. On the passenger side it offers a modest seasonal programme of charter flights to holiday destinations.