Le Bourget Airport
Encyclopedia
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located in Le Bourget
Le Bourget
Le Bourget is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.A very small part of Le Bourget airport lies on the territory of the commune of Le Bourget, which nonetheless gave its name to the airport. Most of the airport lies on the territory of the...
, Bonneuil-en-France
Bonneuil-en-France
Bonneuil-en-France is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France.Le Bourget Airport is partially located in the commune.-References:** -External links:*...
, and Dugny
Dugny
Dugny is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.About a third of Le Bourget airport lies on the territory of the commune of Dugny, including its main terminal and the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace...
, 6 NM north-northeast (NNE) of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It is now used only for general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
(business jet
Business jet
Business jet, private jet or, colloquially, bizjet is a term describing a jet aircraft, usually of smaller size, designed for transporting groups of up to 19 business people or wealthy individuals...
s) as well as air show
Air show
An air show is an event at which aviators display their flying skills and the capabilities of their aircraft to spectators in aerobatics. Air shows without aerobatic displays, having only aircraft displayed parked on the ground, are called "static air shows"....
s. It is the most important business airport in Europe.
The airport started commercial operations in 1919 and was Paris's only airport until the construction of Orly Airport
Orly Airport
Paris-Orly Airport is an airport located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris, France. It has flights to cities in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, North America and Southeast Asia. Prior to the construction of Charles de Gaulle Airport, Orly was...
in 1932. It is most famous as the landing site for Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
's historic solo transatlantic
Transatlantic flight
Transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean. A transatlantic flight may proceed east-to-west, originating in Europe or Africa and terminating in North America or South America, or it may go in the reverse direction, west-to-east...
crossing in 1927, as well as the departure point two weeks earlier for the French biplane The White Bird
The White Bird
The White Bird was a French biplane which disappeared in 1927, during an attempt to make the first non-stop transatlantic flight between Paris and New York...
(L'Oiseau Blanc), an aircraft which took off in its own attempt at a transatlantic flight but then mysteriously disappeared somewhere over the Atlantic (or possibly the American state of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
). Le Bourget Airport was featured in the Dan Brown
Dan Brown
Dan Brown is an American author of thriller fiction, best known for the 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. Brown's novels, which are treasure hunts set in a 24-hour time period, feature the recurring themes of cryptography, keys, symbols, codes, and conspiracy theories...
novel The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery-detective novel written by Dan Brown. It follows symbologist Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder in Paris's Louvre Museum and discover a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to...
.
On 25 June 1940, Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
began his first and only tour of Paris with Albert Speer
Albert Speer
Albert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
and an entourage, from Le Bourget Airport.http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/hitlerparis.htm
On 16 June 1961, the Russian
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
dancer Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.In 1961 he...
defected at Le Bourget Airport.
In 1977, Le Bourget was closed to international traffic and in 1980 to regional traffic, leaving only business jets to operate.
On 25 July 2000 Concorde flight 4590
Air France Flight 4590
Air France Flight 4590 was a Concorde flight operated by Air France which was scheduled to run from Charles de Gaulle International Airport near Paris, to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. On 2000, it crashed in Gonesse, France. All one hundred passengers and nine crew...
was trying to divert to Le Bourget when it crashed.
Le Bourget Airport hosts the French Air and Space Museum, and, in odd-numbered years, the Paris Air Show
Paris Air Show
The Paris Air Show is the world's oldest and largest air show. Established in 1909, it is currently held every odd year at Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France...
.
This airport contains a statue commemorating Frenchwoman Raymonde de Laroche
Raymonde de LaRoche
Raymonde de Laroche , born Elise Raymonde Deroche, was a French aviatrix and the first woman in the world to receive an aeroplane pilot's licence.-Early life:...
who was the first woman to earn a pilot's licence. There is also a monument honoring Lindbergh, Nungesser, and Coli.
Facilities
The Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation CivileBureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'Aviation Civile
The Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile is an agency of the French government, responsible for investigating aviation accidents and making safety recommendations based on what is learned from those investigations. It is headquartered in Building 153 on the grounds...
(BEA) is headquartered in Building 153 on the grounds of Le Bourget Airport and in Le Bourget
Le Bourget
Le Bourget is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.A very small part of Le Bourget airport lies on the territory of the commune of Le Bourget, which nonetheless gave its name to the airport. Most of the airport lies on the territory of the...
. Le Bourget Airport hosts the French Air and Space Museum, which is also located in the commune of Le Bourget.
Media appearances
Le Bourget Airport is the base for the "Paris Airshow Demonstration Flight" mission supplied with Microsoft Flight Simulator XMicrosoft Flight Simulator X
Microsoft Flight Simulator X, also known as FSX, is the latest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator after Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004...
.
External links
- Aéroports de Paris (official site)
- Aéroport de Paris – Le Bourget (Union des Aéroports Français)
- Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace (History of the Museum of Air and Space)