Paris–Le Bourget Airport (French: Aéroport de Paris-Le Bourget) (IATA: LBG, ICAO: LFPB) is an airport located within portions of the communes of Le Bourget, Bonneuil-en-France, Dugny and Gonesse, 6 NM (11 km; 6.9 mi) north-northeast[2] of Paris, France.
Paris–Le Bourget Airport Aéroport de Paris-Le Bourget Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-54 | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | Groupe ADP | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operator | Paris Aéroport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Serves | Paris metropolitan area | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Le Bourget | ||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1919 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 220 ft / 67 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 48°57′36″N 02°26′06″E / 48.96000°N 2.43500°E | ||||||||||||||||||
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  LBG Location of Paris–Le Bourget Airport | |||||||||||||||||||
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Once Paris's principal airport, it is now used only for general aviation, including business jet operations. It also hosts air shows, most notably the Paris Air Show. The airport is operated by Groupe ADP under the brand Paris Aéroport.
History
editThe airport started commercial operations in 1919 and was Paris's only airport until the construction of Orly Airport in 1932. It is famous as the landing site for Charles Lindbergh's historic solo transatlantic crossing in 1927 in the Spirit of St. Louis, and had been the departure point two weeks earlier for the French biplane L'Oiseau Blanc (The White Bird), which took off in an attempt at a transatlantic flight, but then mysteriously disappeared.[3] Howard Hughes flew the second nonstop flight from New York to Paris in 1939, landing at Le Bourget and thereafter continuing onward to Moscow.[4]
On 25 June 1940, Adolf Hitler began his first and only tour of Paris, with Albert Speer and an entourage, from Le Bourget Airport.[5]
Due to capacity constraints at Le Bourget, Air France transferred all of its operations to Orly in 1952.[6]
The Paris Air Show was first held at Le Bourget in 1953, having previously been held at the Grand Palais prior to World War II, and at Orly after the war.[7]
The first jet-powered transcontinental flight, which was a Boeing 707 operated by Pan Am, occurred from Idlewild Airport, New York, to Le Bourget, on October 26, 1958, with a fuel stop in Gander, Newfoundland.
On 16 June 1961, the Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defected at Le Bourget Airport.[8]
In 1977, Le Bourget was closed to international airline traffic and in 1980 to regional airline traffic, but continues serving both domestic and international business aviation. Since 1975, Le Bourget Airport has hosted the Musée de l’air et de l’espace, France's main state-owned aviation museum. Following the discontinuation of regular commercial traffic in 1977, space available to house museum collections and displays has progressively increased.[9][10]
The airport hosts a statue commemorating Frenchwoman Raymonde de Laroche who was the first woman to earn a pilot's licence. There is also a monument honouring Lindbergh, as well as Nungesser and Coli, pilots of The White Bird.[11]
On 14 April 2016, the Groupe ADP rolled out the Connect 2020 corporate strategy and the commercial brand Paris Aéroport was applied to all Parisian airports, including Le Bourget airport.[12]
Le Bourget has been called "The Teterboro of Europe" because of the role it plays in accepting all the business aviation flying into Paris, and the support base.[13]
Facilities
editThe Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile (BEA) is headquartered in Building 153 on the grounds of Le Bourget Airport and in Le Bourget.[14][15] Le Bourget Airport hosts the Musée de l’air et de l’espace, which is also located in the commune of Le Bourget.[16]
Statistics
editGraphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Accidents and incidents
edit- On 24 February 1941, Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière was killed when his plane crashed on takeoff near Le Bourget Airport.
- On 29 August 1948, SNCASE Languedoc P/7 F-BATG of Air France crashed at Le Bourget.
- On 7 April 1952, SNCASE Languedoc P/7F-BATB of Air France was damaged beyond economic repair when it overran the runway on take-off. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled passenger flight from Le Bourget to Heathrow Airport, London.[17]
- On 3 June 1973 a supersonic Tupolev Tu-144 crashed during an aerial display at the Paris Air Show, in an incident known as the 1973 Paris Air Show crash.
- On 20 January 1995, a Dassault Falcon 20E operating as Leadair Unijet Flight 001N crashed after takeoff due to an uncontained engine failure caused by a birdstrike.[18][19]
- On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590 attempted to divert to Le Bourget before it crashed shortly after takeoff from Charles de Gaulle Airport, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground. It was the only fatal Concorde accident during its 27-year operational history.
- On 13 August 2010 a Dassault Falcon 50 was damaged beyond repair when its nose gear collapsed during landing.[20]
- On 19 November 2010 an Algerian Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules excursed from the runway during landing.[21]
In popular culture
edit- Le Bourget Airport is the base for the Paris Air Show.
- Le Bourget Airport features in the opening sequence of The Protectors episode Your Witness
- La Bourget features heavily in Agatha Christie's 1935 novel, Death in the Clouds.
- The titular aircraft in Airport '79: Concorde had suffered hydraulic failure during the attack by the rogue F-4 Phantom jet and barreled through two arresting barricades, being stopped, just barely, by the third.
- Le Bourget Airport appears in dozens of movies (since the 1930s), sometimes as an active airport others as the Air and Space Museum or through their collection of survivors commercial aircraft used as a set. The terminal could be heavily digitally modified (Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris), acting as an airport in East Berlin (Enigma (1982 film)) but sometimes suggested and represented by other platforms (as seen in The Da Vinci Code -the real one being Brighton City Airport-).
References
edit- ^ LFPB – PARIS LE BOURGET. AIP from French Service d'information aéronautique, effective 31 October 2024.
- ^ a b "EAD Basic". Archived from the original on 23 August 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
- ^ Godspeed, Charles and Francois. "The Secret of The White Bird." Archived 24 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine aero-news.net, 9 May 2006. Retrieved: 16 January 2009.
- ^ "The Boise City News - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ "Hitler Tours Paris, 1940". Eyewitnesstohistory.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
- ^ "Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport - Part 1". A Visual History of the World's Great Airports. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ 2005-06-07T00:00:00+01:00. "Making history". Flight Global. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "1961 - Rudolf Nureyev defects to the West". Nureyev.org. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ^ fr:Musée de l'air et de l'espace
- ^ "Présentation". Musée Air et Espace. Archived from the original on 13 March 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ^ "Nungesser & Coli Vanish Two Weeks Before Lindbergh Crosses The Atlantic". Documenting Reality. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ Charlotte Turner (19 April 2016). "ADP reveals rebrand and opens Orly South Pier". Trbusiness.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ^ Esler, David (20 August 2019). "Storied Le Bourget Is Europe's Premier Business Aviation Facility". Aviation Week. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- ^ "Plan d’accès au BEA Archived 20 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine." Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile. Retrieved on 17 June 2010.
- ^ "header_logo_et_coord.gif Archived 21 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine." Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile. Retrieved on 17 June 2010.
- ^ "Address and Directions Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine." Musée de l’air et de l’espace. Retrieved on 9 September 2010.
- ^ "F-BATB Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Dassault Falcon 20E F-GHLN Paris-Le Bourget Airport (LBG)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
- ^ "RAPPORT relatif à l'accident survenu le 20 janvier 1995 sur l'aérodrome du Bourget au Falcon 20 E immatriculé F-GHLN exploité par la Compagnie LEADAIR UNIJET" [REPORT relating to the accident that occurred on January 20, 1995 at Le Bourget aerodrome to the Falcon 20 E registered F-GHLN operated by LEADAIR UNIJET]. bea.aero (in French). Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Dassault Falcon 50 F-HAIR Paris-Le Bourget Airport (LBG)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed C-130H-30 Hercules 7T-WHA Paris-Le Bourget Airport (LBG)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
External links
edit- Aéroports de Paris (official site) (in English)
- Aéroport de Paris-Le Bourget (Union des Aéroports Français) (in French)
- Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace (Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace) (in French)