Lille Airport Departures (LIL)

Lille is one of the medium-sized French airports serving areas in northern France, and is found just a few kilometres outside of Lille, a city nearby the borders of Belgium. It is a pubic airport, operated by the CCI Lille Métropole, and handles over a million passengers per annum. The airport’s ‘second’ name is the Lesquin Airport, as it is located in Lesquin, or the Lille-Lesquin Airport. It is also recognised by the airport code LIL. Lille departures are offered by several important airline companies, and both scheduled and holiday flights are made from the airport, to various local and international destinations. Departing passengers will also find all the facilities they require within the terminal building.

Scheduled departure flights from Lille are those which are operated throughout the year, on set days of the week, or even several times a day. Passengers at this airport can fly several times a day on direct flights to Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Strasbourg and Toulouse, which are all local destinations, and flights are offered several times a week to Casablanca, Marrakech, Alger, Pise and Alicante. Regular flights from Lille
also have a connection to many other cities, such as Madrid, Munich, Barcelona, Rome, Frankfurt, Porto, Bastia, Biarritz and Milan, just to name a few. Most domestic departures are handled by the airline companies of Air France, Air France operated by Régional, Chalair Aviation, Ryanair and EasyJet, while other airline companies are Aigle Azur, Air Algérie, Royal Air Maroc, Transavia France and Vueling. Direct flight tickets are available from the airline companies or from some travel agencies.

A ‘holiday flight’ refers to those which are only flown at certain times of the year, and are often part of a package of services, with an all-inclusive price. The packages are mostly organised by tour operators. Tickets for just the flight can often be purchased as well. Some of the most beautiful holiday destinations are served from Lille Airport, for example, Heraklion in Crete, Athens and Rhodes in Greece, and Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife and Malaga in Spain. In 2009, Lille Airport handled approximately 1,147,000 passengers, and is ranked as the twelfth busiest airport in France. It is also significant for freight movements, as almost 38,000 tons are handled each year, and it is the fourth busiest in terms of cargo.

Lille is the principle city of the Lille Métropole, and the capital city of the Nord-Pas de Calais region of France. It is found to the north of Paris and to the south and west of Belgium. Lille is also nearby the French cities of Lens, Valenciennes, Saint-Quentin, Amiens and Arras, and nearby the Belgium cities of Tournai, Kortrijk and Ghent. Lille Airport has a very strategic location nearby the city centre of Lille, and nearby to the railway stations and Euralille, which is one of the largest business districts in the country. Departing passengers can travel to the airport in their own vehicle, as the airport is located at the heart of a dense motorway network, and there are plenty of parking options nearby the terminal. Short-stay parking is offered in P2, P3 and P4, while long-term and more affordable parking options are found in P1. The main road to the airport is the A1 from Lille or from Paris, and the airport is just a ten minute drive from Lille city centre. The A22 and A27 are roads leading from areas in Belgium. Bus services are available from the Euralille shopping centre (between the two railway stations of the city), or taxies can be used from any nearby area. There is no train station at the airport, therefore, departing passengers arriving in the city by rail will need to take a bus or taxi to the airport.

The Lille Airport departure area is modern, and designed to minimize the transfer and waiting times of passengers. The airport is often described as a ‘fifteen-minute’ airport, and is ranked fourth out of the top fifteen airports in France for punctuality. The latest technology services are available to assist departing passengers, for example, express check-in at the Air France Self Service Kiosk, and check-in configuration which allows e-ticketing, check-in and the issue of boarding cards on the website of Air France. The airport’s single passenger terminal is also equipped with WiFi Hotspot for wireless internet connections and a business centre for professional travellers. Quality rooms are offered, seating up to forty people, and they are the ideal place to work before a departure flight. The rooms have nice views over the runways, and can be accessed from either the arrival or departure areas. Various items of equipment are available, and catering can be arranged. Additional facilities at the airport include waiting areas, boarding lounges, a VIP lounge, the ‘Your’s’ restaurant, a Relay boutique and duty-free stores in the secure departure area. The restaurant is located on a circular platform, which is the terminal’s only ‘floor’. It offers an excellent variety of foods, and exceptional views over the airport’s activities.

The airport has a terminal building for general (private) and business aviation and a modern freight terminal. The building currently used for general aviation is the former passenger terminal of the airport, as a new passenger building was completed in 1996.

Ensure that you arrive in good time for your departure flight, as check-in will close at different times for the various airline companies. Time is also required for checking-in hold luggage, and for passing the security points before entering the secure boarding lounge. Scheduled live Lille departures can be found on various online websites.