Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport
Facts on LYS
President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing inaugurated the airport on 12 April 1975, built to replace the older Lyon–Bron Airport, which today handles only general aviation.
Source: Wikipedia
The airport is named for Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, born in Lyon in 1900, a pioneering airmail pilot who flew routes across Europe, Africa and South America before writing The Little Prince; he disappeared on 31 July 1944 during a reconnaissance flight for the Free French Air Force.
Source: Wikipedia
Originally called Lyon Satolas after the nearby village, the airport and its TGV station were renamed for Saint-Exupéry in 2000, on the centenary of his birth, honouring the Lyon-born aviator and writer.
Source: Wikipedia
The airport's train station, opened in 1994 when the LGV Rhône-Alpes high-speed line reached it, is topped by a fan-shaped canopy designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, now the airport's best-known architectural feature.
Source: Wikipedia
In 2013 the airport served 8,562,298 passengers, up 1.3% on the previous year, while air freight volumes jumped 22.7% to 44,820 tonnes even as overall aircraft movements fell slightly.
Source: Wikipedia
The Rhônexpress tramway, running since August 2010, links the airport to the Part-Dieu business district in about 30 minutes, replacing the earlier Satobus coach shuttle that had been the only public transport connection to the city.
Source: Wikipedia
The airport has been a focus city for Air France since 1997, part of the carrier's network of regional hubs beyond its main base at Paris.
Source: Wikipedia
Saint-Exupéry is commemorated in Lyon with a statue showing him seated with the Little Prince standing behind him, one of many tributes across France to the writer-aviator the airport is named for.
Source: Wikipedia