Touquet-Côte d'Opale Airport
| Aéroport de Touquet-Côte d'Opale | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | LFAT |
| IATA code | LTQ |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 6 m (20 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 3 km southeast of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage |
| Street |
D 939 5 km to 
|
| Basic data | |
| opening | July 3, 1936 |
| operator | Société d'économie mixed de l'aéroport du Touquet |
| Start-and runway | |
| 14/32 | 1850 m × 40 m asphalt |
The Aéroport de Touquet-Côte d'Opale is an airport in France . The airport is located in the region of Hauts-de-France in the department of Pas-de-Calais southeast of the center of Le Touquet . Today the airport is mainly used for general aviation .
history
From 1922, British aircraft in particular first used the Berck-Merlimont aerodrome , from which the aircraft were taken to the Le Touquet casinos by means of a shuttle. The flourishing flight volume led to the construction of the Le Touquet airfield in the mid-1930s, which was opened on July 3, 1936, initially only equipped with a grass runway, with a large flight day.
During the Second World War , the area served as a military airfield , initially in April of the British Royal Air Force . The airfield was the base of Hurricane Mk.I of the 87th Squadron and the A-Flight of the 615th Squadron until the withdrawal of the British forces across the English Channel . Many of the deployed British fighters were devastated by German bombing raids right at the beginning of the German campaign in the west .
After the area was conquered by the German Wehrmacht , towards the end of the campaign in early June, the area was followed for a few days as a base by staff, I. and II. Groups of Jagdgeschwader 26 (staff, I. and II./JG 26) of the German Air Force for almost two weeks from the staff of Jagdgeschwader 52 (Stab / JG 52), all of which were equipped with the Bf 109E .
After the armistice of 1940 , Le Touquet / Étaples remained a hunter base, in the last week of June first of the staff of Jagdgeschwader 51 (Stab / JG 51) and then for the ensuing Battle of Britain of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53), whose staff was here between In late August and late December 1940. In addition, the III. Group (III./JG 53) and in the second half of September also the I. (I./JG 53). Fighter pilot 2 (Jafü 2) was also quartered in the Hôtel du Golf and stayed there until the end of 1942. In September, the airfield was also the base of the 110 courier squadron.
In the following spring, from the beginning of February to mid-April 1941, Le Touquet was the base of the IV. Group of Jagdgeschwader 51 (IV./JG 51), which was now equipped with the Bf 109F. At the end of 1942, use by the Luftwaffe was de facto discontinued, only a small base command remained. At the beginning of 1944, in view of an allied invasion expected in the Pas-de-Calais, preparations were made to blow up the concrete runway in order to make it more difficult for the Allies to use it later.
After the war, the airfield was used for civilian purposes again.
Between 1948 and 1958 it was also on the flight plan of Silver City Airways , which flew to it with Bristol 170 freighters for car transport from Lydd . Up to 30 flights were handled daily, each of which could transport a maximum of three cars and twelve passengers. The French Air Transport later took over the connection. A total of 125,000 flights with 759,000 passengers were carried out.
A second runway was built in 1953 and the original terminal was expanded in 1955. A second terminal was built in 1959 and runway 14/22 was extended four times between 1957 and 1966 to the last 2 km.
In 1965, the Caravelle was the first jet airliner to operate in Le Touquet.
A new edition of a passenger service from Lydd in the 1990s was not profitable and was discontinued. Most recently, LyddAir connections existed with a small device on weekends that was worn by golfers in particular.
The smaller of the two slopes was closed in 2004.
Todays use
The airfield is primarily used by air taxis and sport aircraft as well as flight schools. Chartered Airbus or Boeing planes are occasionally used during the season.
Incidents
- On November 4, 1958, a Compagnie Air Transport Bristol 170 Mk.21 ( aircraft registration F-BHVB ) hit an obstacle on its approach to Le Touquet Airport. The resulting damage resulted in the landing gear collapsing when it touched down and the aircraft was a total loss. There was no personal injury.
- On July 11, 1969, a Bristol 170 Mk.32 of Compagnie Air Transport (F-BLHH) parked at Touquet Airport was rammed by an airport excavator and damaged in such a way that the machine had to be written off. People were not harmed.
- On March 18, 1971, the nose landing gear of a British Air Ferries (BAF) (G-APNH) Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair coming from Southend collapsed in a crosswind landing at Le Touquet Airport. All 18 occupants survived the accident. However, repairing the machine would have been uneconomical.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Accident report Bristol 170 F-BHVB , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on September 18, 2017.
- ↑ King 2011, p. 188.
- ^ Accident report Bristol 170 F-BLHH , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on September 18, 2017.
- ↑ King 2011, p. 262.
- ^ Accident report ATL-98 G-APNH , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on August 5, 2019.