Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport (Aéroport de Lyon-Saint Exupéry), formerly known as Lyon Satolas Airport , is the international airport of Lyon, the third-biggest city in France and an important transport facility for the entire Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It lies in Colombier-Saugnieu, southeast of Lyon's city centre. The airport is 30 minutes from the Lyon-Part-Dieu business district by the Rhônexpress tram.
The airport was inaugurated by President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing on 12 April 1975, and opened to passengers a week later. It was designed to replace the old Lyon–Bron Airport, which is now only used for general aviation.
In 1994, the LGV Rhône-Alpes high-speed rail line brought TGV service to the airport, providing direct trains to Paris and Marseille. The fan-shaped canopy of the Gare de Lyon Saint-Exupéry, designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, is the airport's most notable architectural feature.
Since 1997, the airport has been a focus city for the airline Air France.
The airport was originally named Lyon Satolas Airport, after the nearby eponymous village, but in 2000 the airport and train station were renamed in honour of Lyonnais aviation pioneer and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, on the centenary of his birth. He was a native of Lyon, and a laureate of the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française, and died in World War II.
In 2013, the airport served 8,562,298 passengers, an increase of 1.3% over the previous year. Air freight increased by 22.7% to 44,820 tonnes, although overall aircraft movements dropped by 2.8% to 113,420.
The airport consists of passenger terminals 1 and 2 which are interconnected on the landside by a central building that itself has a foot-bridge to the nearby Gare de Lyon Saint-Exupéry high-speed railway station and the Rhônexpress terminus. The airport also features two runways as well as cargo facilities. A total of 16,000 car spaces in four car parks (P2-P5) are available. Two of the parks are underground (P2 and P3) while the long-stay parks (P4 and P5) are located at a distance from the terminals behind the railway station.