Nantes Atlantique Airport is an international airport serving Nantes, France. It is located southwest of the city, in Bouguenais. The airport is operated by the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Nantes. It is currently the third largest airport in the west of France, with a maximum capacity of three million passengers a year. In 2019, the airport handled 7,221,000 passengers, an increase of 16.6% compared to 2018.
History
Nantes airport owes its origins to a military airfield, conceived in 1928 on part of the current site. In 1936/7 the Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques de l'Ouest opened an aircraft factory adjacent to the airfield, initially building MB.210 bombers, followed by M.S.406 fighters and LeO 45 bombers. In 1939 the first paved runway was constructed, with a length of. During World War II the airfield was briefly used as a British Royal Air Force airfield before being captured by German forces. Under occupation the aircraft factory was closed, and the airfield was used by the Luftwaffe as an airfield to bomb targets in England. As a consequence the airfield was hit by a damaging air raid on 4 July 1943, which also destroyed the adjoining aircraft factory. After the war the airfield was again put into service by the French Air Force. The aircraft factory was rebuilt, and has since built sections of the Vautour fighter and the Caravelle airliner, before becoming part of Airbus. In 1951 the first commercial operations started, with a new terminal built between 1954 and 1960 and runway extensions to cater for larger aircraft. Nantes Atlantique is currently the largest airport in the west of France. There were plans to have it replaced by an Aéroport du Grand Ouest, situated to the north-west of Nantes in the 'commune' of Notre-Dame-des-Landes. The €580 million project was approved in February 2008, with plans to open it in 2017. However, after a nearly 40-year-long controversy regarding the usefulness and impact of such an airport, the project was officially cancelled on 17 January 2018.
Facilities
The airport has a single 'L' shaped passenger terminal, which is divided into four numbered halls. Halls 1 to 3 form the long side of the 'L' and are zones within the same two story building, with baggage claim and check-in facilities on the ground floor, and departure lounges on the upper level. Hall 4 occupies a later single story building at right angles to the earlier building, but connected to it by a lobby. The airport also has a separate freight terminal, situated to the south of the passenger terminal, which includes of entrepôt storage. Also situated close to the passenger terminal is the Nantes factory of Airbus, which specialises in the construction of the centre wing box of the Airbus fleet of airliners and in the use of composite materials for creating structural components.
Other facilities
, a regional airline, was headquartered on the grounds of Nantes Atlantique Airport. In 2013 the airline merged into HOP!
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Ground transportation
Nantes Atlantique Airport is located just outside the Périphérique de Nantes, the city's peripheral ring motorway, to which it is linked by a short access road. All the major roads and motorways to and from the city of Nantes intersect the 'périphérique'. Several car parks, both in the open and under cover, are located in the terminal area, with each car park having its own tariff. An express shuttle bus, the 'Navette Tan Air', links the a stop outside the airport terminal to Nantes railway station and the city centre. The service forms part of Nantes's Tan public transport network, but charges a Tan Air fare, which is higher than the standard network fare, for the full journey. Alternatively the shuttle can be used to reach Neustrie, where a connection can be made to line 3 of the Tan tram system, using standard network fares.
