France has around one airport for every 400,000 people, but they are not all used for commercial flights.
The majority of France's airports do are not used for commercial flights, but rather for accommodating emergency services, private flights, aircraft maintenance, etcSong_about_summer / Shutterstock
Many people who move to France are surprised to find that even many mid-sized towns have their own airport.
There are currently 169 airports which are members of the Union des Aéroports Français (UAF).
After excluding those located in the overseas territories, we have created a map of mainland France’s 148 airports.
“We have around 54 airports with European certification, so these are the main ones with commercial flights. This number can fluctuate because some routes are added or taken away, depending on circumstances,” Nicolas Paulissen, executive director of the UAF, told The Connexion.
The other airports accommodate business aviation, repair and maintenance workshops, bases for helicopters such as those used by France’s electricity transmission system operator RTE, and bases for emergency rescue aircraft.
France actually has around 500 airports, although many are very small with potential only for fire rescue, for example, rather than commercial or business flights.
Our map below shows some of the country's main airports, which are also associated with the Union des Aéroports Français.
Mainland France has 148 main airports used for commercial or private flights
