Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Marseille Provence Airport (LFML) is a large international gateway at Marignane, on the northern shore of the Étang de Berre, some 27 km northwest of Marseille itself. It has served as the region's principal airport since 1922, with a long history in flying-boat operations before developing into the modern hub it is today, offering a challenging but well-equipped destination for visiting pilots.
Marseille Provence Airport sits at Marignane in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, acting as the main air gateway to Provence and the wider south-eastern French coast. It is operated by the Marseille Provence Chamber of Commerce and Industry and today functions as a substantial international airport, a focus city for Air France and an operating base for Ryanair, making it a busy piece of controlled airspace for any visiting simulator pilot to plan around.
The airport lies in the commune of Marignane, on the northern edge of the Étang de Berre, about 27 kilometres northwest of central Marseille, within the Bouches-du-Rhône department of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. As a major international airport it sits within its own controlled airspace and is one of the principal aerodromes serving the Marseille hinterland, which extends from Gap to Arles and from Toulon to Avignon.
Marseille Provence has two parallel hard-surfaced, lit runways. The longer pair, 13L/31R, is 10,346 ft as measured from the 13L threshold and 9,389 ft from the 31R threshold. The second pair, 13R/31L, is 7,759 ft from the 13R threshold and 7,604 ft from the 31L threshold. Both runways are asphalt and equipped with lighting; the airfield has no ILS.
Marseille Provence operates a full suite of radio services. Approach/Radar works on 120.2 MHz, the Tower on 118.375 MHz, Ground on 121.9 MHz, ATIS on 125.35 MHz, an Information frequency on 118.85 MHz, and a dedicated Pre-flight/PERFLIGHT frequency on 121.725 MHz. There is no ILS approach available at the field.
Marseille Provence Airport opened on 22 October 1922 and has been managed by the Marseille-Provence Chamber of Commerce and Industry since 1934. In the 1920s and 1930s Marignane was one of France's principal flying-boat bases, hosting operators including Aéropostale and Air Union, the latter relocating from Antibes in 1931, and it briefly served as a terminal for Pan American World Airways Clipper flying boats. The site was also used by Lioré et Olivier for hydroplane production. The airport, then known as Marseille-Marignane, features in aviation literature: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry describes turning back to Marignane with a fuel leak in Wind, Sand and Stars, an episode that informed the crash-landing scene in The Little Prince. During the Second World War the site was catalogued as Advanced Landing Ground Y-14. In September 2006 the airport opened a new low-cost terminal, MP2, and in June 2024 an expanded and renovated Terminal 1 was inaugurated, adding around 22,000 square metres of new construction to the existing Halls A and B.
Marseille Provence remains one of France's busiest airports, ranked fifth nationally by passenger traffic and third for cargo. It serves as a focus city for Air France and an operating base for Ryanair, with a wide range of scheduled airlines connecting it to destinations across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, alongside cargo operators. The airport underwent significant terminal redevelopment completed in 2024. No specific simulator scenery availability is noted in the sources consulted.
