Other Major reasons to serve this airport
LYON & THE RHONE-ALPS-AUVERGNE REGION:
- 1er Economic region in France
- More populated than Finland, Ireland or New Zealand
- Richer than Finland, Ireland or New Zealand
- Attractive throughout the year: 50 % of the overnight stays in summer & 40 % in winter.
- Lyon = the 2nd largest city in France & touristic destination
- Headquarters of Interpol, Euronews, International Research on Cancer & Sanofi….
LYON-SAINT EXUPERY AIRPORT
- 8.5 million Passengers in 2014
- All year round traffic potential
- 45% of LYS’s travelers are travelling for business
- CargoPort : soon to be connected to the railway with the Carex project
- Multimodal hub : high speed train station, Tram express to Lyon, Shuttle Buses, Motorways
€430 billion (GDP of the airport catchment area)
- INNOVATION AND DYNAMIC GROWTH
- #1 University & High School Centre (outside Paris)
- 19,000 researchers, 250,000 students
- 4 global leaders in biotechnologies: Mérial, Sanofi Pasteur, Biomérieux, Genzyme
- 17 Clusters of Excellence (international dimension)
- #1 University & High School Centre (outside Paris)
- 1,500 DECISION CENTRES
- International organisations: Interpol, International Agency for research on Cancer, OMS…
- 900 FOREIGN CAPITAL COMPANIES
- 82 headquarters (over 1,000 employees)
- Decision centre density higher than Barcelona or Manchester
- #1 recipient of foreign direct investments in France (outside Paris)
- Only Lyon Video
THE PREMIER TOURIST GATEWAY TO FRENCH ALPS, WORLD-FAMOUS VINEYARDS AND PROVENCE
Sports & Nature
- The world’s largest ski field (circa 200 resorts), helitransfer service available as well as three to five daily scheduled coach services
- Over 800,000 ha (two million acres) of natural park
- 80 golf courses, mountain bike, trekking, paragliding, canoeing, sailing, spa centers
Gastronomy & Wine
- World Famous chefs
- World Famous Vineyards
- Bourgogne, Beaujolais, Côtes du Rhône
History & Culture
- Lyon is part of UNESCO World Heritage
- Lyon historic center: 6,000,000 visitors per year
- Various festivals (Music, Theatre, Dance)
- Lyon “fêtes des lumières”: 4,000,000 visitors
- 20 archeological sites, Antiques
Incentive policy > Time is Money
New Financial Policy & Discount
- New International Route Discounts off Landing & Passenger Fees. 2 Years Incentive Scheme
Cost Savings | Year 1 | Year 2 |
---|---|---|
Landing Fees | 75% | 50% |
Passenger Fees | 75% | 50% |
- Conditions:
- Shorthaul : Twice Weekly Non Stop 16 consecutive weeks
- Longhaul : Once Weekly, Maxi 1 Stop 16 consecutive Weeks
Dynamic and effective support
A team dedicated to assisting each airline in its traffic development approach.
1 Analysis for potential of a service, by understanding current O&D traffic departing from or arriving in Lyon (source: Sabre GDD), its changes over time, its seasonality and the mix of traffic in terms of business/first in particular;
2 Transformation of this potential into real traffic projections adapted to the position of your airline and the competitive environment observed (software used: Beontra);
3 Analysis of underlying economic, demographic or cultural fundamentals explaining this potential.
In particular: databases and contacts with the main players of the catchment area: Companies, travel agencies, etc.
4 Identification of passenger profiles by service/destination to better adapt the marketing tools provided
(source: Lyon Airport Passenger Profile, performed continuously on a sample of about 30,000 people per year).
Marketing promotional plan :
- constructed according to a needs analysis of the
airline and the study of passenger profiles suited to our market - consisting of efficient promotional tools for BtoB as well as BtoC,
a wide range of communication media
- Press conferences & press trip
- Publications and editorial content through various channels : Fly’on Airport Magazine, FLY’on TV, Newsletters, internet and social networks, billboards & displays
- E-mailings
- Campaigns targeted at tourists, travel agencies and tour operators
- Field Sales Assistance
- Workshops & tourism exhibitions
A wide potential catchment area: 15 million inhabitants within two hours (exclusive of Paris).
Catchment Area
12 million inhabitants
According to LYS’ passengers survey lead on more than 30,000 passenger every year, LYS catchment area actually includes a wide area from Dijon in the North to the Mediterranean coasts (Marseille, Montpellier and Nimes)
More than 12 million inhabitants live in this catchment area situated less than 2 hours within Lyon-Saint Exupéry airport either by train or driving,
Highways
LYS is located on a highway nodal junction:
- 90 minutes from the Alps’ ski resorts
- Scheduled coaches to over 30 ski resorts
Airport high-speed rail station
- 1:55 from Paris “Gare de Lyon” station
- 1h40 from Provence: Marseille, Avignon…
- Italy: Milan, Turin.
Tramway : the Rhônexpress
A new tramway, the Rhônexpress, connects Lyon-Saint Exupéry and the central Lyon Part-Dieu railway station in less than 30 minutes
- 5 am to midnight
- Every 15 min
Airport High-speed rail station
- Paris: in 1h55
- Alps: Grenoble (1h), Chambéry (1h), Annecy (1h45)…
- Provence: Marseille (1h40), Avignon,
- Italy: Milan, Turin.

Rhônexpress
A new tramway, the Rhônexpress, connects Lyon-Saint Exupéry and the central Lyon Part-Dieu railway station in less than 30 minutes
- 5 am to midnight
- Every 15 min
Euro-Carex: Cargo Rail express
Pioneered by CDG and LYS, the project will link 7 airports. Those cargo hubs will consolidate freight and load it on to high speed TGV trains: same containers for air and rail.
Lyon is the biggest cargo airport in France outside Paris and offers advanced and expanding facilities – 24/7 – in a location central to major European economic flows.
Under-served freight opportunities and other economic impact factors
Easy reminder for CargoPort LYS
- Is located in one of the most dynamic region in France
- Grants a direct access to the European highway network (1 km from apron)
- Offers an attractive air cargo market (mainly hi-tech industrial production)
- Is open 24/7/365 for operations
- Provides a dedicated incentive for freighters
- Is proud to be a truck friendly airport
Simply the best place in France to launch a freighter operation
CargoPort Lyon-Saint Exupéry, your new cargo home
- Number 1 in France, after Paris, for cargo
- An overall tonnage of circa 150,000 tons has been achieved in 2014 by our cargo partners : 49,850 tonnes airborne cargo /100,000 tonnes trucked air cargo (RFS)
- An exceptional geographical location at the crossroads of major European economic flows. Extensive highway and railway network are located on site to offer you the best connections to Europe‘s main economic centers.
- The LYON region is the most dynamic economic region in France, and the number 1 airfreight production area.
- LYON is the Life Sciences region in France. It has the highest concentration of health companies in France, with several World leaders (Sanofi Pasteur, BioMerieux, Merial)
- LYON is also the birthplace of the French chemical industry. More than 500 companies are already located or developing here.
- LYON has a long history in the transport industry for both trucks and automotive, vehicles or parts manufacturers
Infrastructure and services
- 2 runways (runway A 4,000 m long, runway B 2,670 m long). All aircraft are allowed at their MTOW. And no curfew
- LYS is a major integrators’ gateway with 16 daily flights
- Weekly freighter service by Emirates SkyCargo with a 777 F
- Important Road Feeder Service sub hub for air cargo top players
- CargoPort apron can accommodate 7 wide body freighters simultaneously.
- A brand new apron, freighter dedicated, has been opened for operations in March 2015. It provides an extra 8 stands for D,E, and F aircraft types.
- 100 companies have chosen CargoPort to locate their operations. More than 24 airlines and 80 freight forwarders, handling companies, brokers, and truckers are located on site. 1,300 cargo specialists at your service. Their expertise and know-how are a true sign of efficiency for the handling of your flights, and the processing of you cargo.
- The main terminal has some cool storages units, along with the Border Inspection Post (EU approved). Other specialized storages are available on site for valuables, radioactive products. Health officials (vet), and Customs are located on site.
- Several private and dedicated cargo terminals have been developed on site: WFS (2 warehouses), Swissport, DHL Global forwarding, DB Schenker, Fatton, French Post.
New growing specialties in CargoPort Lyon-Saint Exupéry
- With the Golden Mile
As the construction of a new first line will be developed within the next 3 year, thus providing more space for a top quality cargo operation
- With the Cool Hub project
The community already processes yearly around 10,000 tonnes of healthcare and life sciences products and several infrastructures for cool storage are already available on site. We have daily reefer truck routes operated between LYS and other hubs. Airlines provide on line main deck and belly capacities as well. But we want to do more.
Therefore new cool storages (3 temperature ranges 2/8, 15/25, -22 °C) will be developed, providing 3,000 sqm of state of the art handling space for healthcare products with easy airside and landside access.
- With the CargoPort Ranch project
A new equine handling center providing both outbound and inbound capabilities for horses’ transportation in LYS, will be created. In 2014, 571 horses (outbound) have been transported in LYS trough an existing infrastructure.
Along with the assets expressed before, CargoPort will have all it takes to become your new cargo home.
Freighters’ incentive program
The route is considered as a new route if it’s not operated at the moment of launch.
The measure applies to the landing fee.
Freighter Routes | ||
---|---|---|
Discounts | Year 1 | Year 2 |
Landing Fees | -75% | -60% |
There is a 2 hours free of charge parking period, for each flight on the new cargo route during the program.

Airport Facts
Traffic Key Figures
2000 | 2008 | 2014 | |
---|---|---|---|
Passengers | 5,8 M | 7,8 M | 8,5 M |
Load Factor | 57% | 60% | 70% |
Airlines (schedule only) | 37 | 42 | 44 |
Destinations (schedule only) | 111 | 129 | 133 |
Infrastructure
- Open 24h
- 2 runways
- Runway A: 4,000 m
- Runway B: 2,670 m
- Capacity: 53 movements/hour
- Passenger terminals:
- 3 passenger terminals
(68,000 m²) - 1 freight platform
(25,000 m²)
- 3 passenger terminals
Terminal 2 = minimum connection time of 25 mins., the shortest in Europe
5 minutes maximum from the runway to aircraft parking, from check-in to the departure lounge
48 gates directly connected to the terminals (incl. 16 with bridges)
New fast turn-off taxiways: will increase arrival/departure capacity during peak hours because the aircraft will take off from the runway more quickly.
A new Operational Control Centre (OCC), managing performance in real time:
- Improving flight punctuality and quality of service
- Managing major events affecting the platform
- Combining centres for: Traffic, Access & Transport,
Technology , Remote information center - Involving partners in the decision-making process
Anticipating rapid low-cost traffic growth, Lyon Airport will more than double the capacity of its existing low-cost terminal.

In addition to its own TGV high-speed train station with connections around France and Europe, Lyon Airport's new Rhônexpress train service provides a link to the city centre in 25 minutes.
MAJOR PROJECT
Future Terminal 1
15 million passengers overall capacity target
- A vast and welcoming new terminal
- State-of-the-art international standards
- Fluid and pleasant trip through the airport
- Innovative amenitiest
- Delivery objective: 2017
- 70,000 m² expansion planned
- 40,000 m² in 2016
- 12,000 m² commercial centre with 4,500 m² of shops and restaurants
- 7 on-stand parking areas for medium-haul carriers
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