Located at Colombier-Saugnieuin, Lyon, France, Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport is currently witnessing a number of expansion plans and construction activities.
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Formerly known as Lyon Satolas Airport, it was renamed in the honour of the French writer and pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, in 2000. The airport has two terminals, designated as Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, and one satellite terminal, Terminal 3, which was opened in November 2011.
The airport handled 9.5 million passengers and approximately 59,000t of freight cargo in 2016. It is expected to handle 15 million passengers per year by 2020.
Airport owner and operator Aéroport de Lyon has initiated a five-year investment plan worth €260m ($347m) for the airport’s improvement.
The plan enables the airport to meet the growing traffic demands with increased capacity and improved service quality.
The airport saw addition of 16 new aircraft stations in 2013 in order to maintain and increase remote aircraft parking capacity.
Future Terminal 1 project at Lyon-Saint Exupéry
The €215m ($255m) Future Terminal 1 project includes the construction of a new terminal by extending the existing Terminal 1 and replacing the metal-fabric unit of Terminal 3. The new terminal is linked to the existing Terminal 3 satellite through an underground gallery.
The new terminal covers an area of 70,000m2. It is a circular building having three levels and covering 10,000m2 of commercial floor space. The terminal features a wide entrance hall, a hanging garden, a large number of shopping outlets, 4,500m2 of baggage delivery area and 9,000m2 of retail space.
The Future terminal project adds new arrival counters, baggage handling systems and check-in counters at the airport. It also features inspection/screening stations. The new terminal building is built based on the high environmental quality (HQE) specifications.
Construction of the Future Terminal project and contractors
Construction of the Future Terminal project is being completed in three phases. The construction started in September 2014 and Phase A was completed by 2017. Phases B and C are scheduled for completion in 2018 and 2025 respectively. Phase A involved the construction of 63,000m2 of terminal area while the remaining 7,000m2 is being constructed during phase B. The project also included construction of two wide-body aircraft stands at Terminal 1 and four medium-haul aircraft stands at Terminal 3. Phase C will involve the refitting of existing Terminal 1.
Egis conducted the feasibility study for the project. The Future Terminal is designed and constructed by consortium of GFC Construction and Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP). Technip TPS, Cape Ingelec, Chabanne Partners and Inddigo are the consultants for the project.
Other expansions at Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport
A 10,000m² concourse building was constructed in front of Terminals 1 and 3 by 2016. The parking areas were expanded by creating silo parking lots. Two traffic circles and 3km of access roads will be created near Terminal 3, which are expected to be completed by 2020.
The airport cargo centre covers an area of 50ha. A new 6,000m² building was constructed at the cargo port to house express freight operations. The operations began in October 2017.
Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport runways
The airport currently has two asphalt coated runways. Runway A is 4,000m-long and 13,124ft-wide, whereas Runway B is 2,670m-long and 8,760ft-wide. Three additional Fast turn-off taxiways (FTOT) were constructed on runway B by 2012. Each FTOT is 500m-long and 45m-wide.
Two new runways are planned to be built at the airport. To be designated as C and D, the new runways are expected to be 3,200m-long and 10,500ft-wide each.
A parallel taxiway will be created between runway A and current taxiway. It is expected to be completed by March 2018. It will be 4km-long and 60m-wide.
Lyon-Saint Exupéry airport road and rail infrastructure
Operational since August 2010, Rhônexpress provides rail transport services for the passengers at the airport. The service connects TGV rail station of Lyon Part-Dieu with the Gare de Lyon Saint-Exupéry.
The Contournement Ferroviaire Agglomération Lyonnaise (CFAL) project will connect the Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport to the TER (Regional Express Train) network. It is expected to be completed by 2020.
The CAREX project will create a CAREX freight station at Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport. It will connect the airport to the European airport hubs via high-speed line network.
A feasibility study was launched for the Euro CAREX project in July 2017 to identify the potential freight volumes and to evaluate the revenue and expenses related to the project. The results of the report will be unveiled by the end of 2017.
The Ligne LGV LYON-TURIN Project will connect the airport to the Lyon-Turin LGV line. It is expected to be completed by 2023.
Financing Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport’s passenger terminal project
The European Investment Bank (EIB) provided a €140m ($187m) loan for the Future Terminal project. Half of the amount was provided as a direct loan and the remaining was provided as an indirect loan from banks, including BNP, Caisse d’Epargne, and Crédit Mutuel.
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