Beziers Airport (BZR)

Béziers Airport is located approximately 11.5km, or 6.2 miles from the town of Béziers, and its full name is the Béziers Cap d’Agde, due to its close location to the holiday resort area of Cap d’Agde. It was formerly known as the Béziers-Vias, as it is nearby Vias, and is recognised by the code of BZR. It serves the town of Béziers, as well as the nearby Languedoc coastal resorts, and is one of the smaller ones in the country, with only just over a hundred thousand passengers per annum. Nevertheless, it is significant for tourism in the area, and is served by a few popular airline companies. The airport is also reasonably equipped with facilities for its passengers.

Two main airline companies serve the airport. They are Ryanair, a company often referred to as the world’s favourite airline carrier, and Flybe, and the airport specializes in low-cost air traffic. It handles commercial national flights as well as private, non-regular traffic, and Ryanair carries the majority of its passengers. Ryanair offers flights from Béziers Airport to the London Luton and Manchester in the United Kingdom, Moss-Rygge in Norway, Stockholm in Sweden and to Dusseldorf Weeze, in Germany. There are also regular flights to Bristol and the Paris-Beauvais. Flybe offers regular flights to Southampton, in the United Kingdom. Flybe’s journey to Southampton allows passengers to connect with a variety of destinations, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Belfast and Jersey.

This small French airport has been managed by a Syndicat Mixte, consisting of a public and private partnership, since April 2009, known as ‘Pôle aéroportuaire Béziers Cap d’Agde en Languedoc. The parties within the partnership include the urban area communities of Béziers-Mediterranée and Hérault- Mediterranée, the Community of communes, including La Domitienne, and the Saint Pons Chamber of Commerce. The Conseil Général, or the Departmental Council, also plays an important role in the management, however, is not yet an official member of the Syndicat Mixte. The Syndicat Mixte has enabled the airport to better finance its development plan, which has a primary goal of reaching over 200,000 passengers per annum by 2012, and would like to achieve around one million Euros per year for economic returns, for the professionals. The passenger traffic has already greatly increased, from just 50,000 passengers in 2008 to 100,000 in 2009, and even greater numbers in 2010.

Béziers has a strong tourist appeal, being located in the heart of the Languedoc Roussillon region, and only a few kilometres from the Canal du Midi and Cap d’Agde. It is also in a region which boasts 300 days of sunshine a year, seaside resorts and natural beaches and winemaking activities coupled with local markets. The Syndicat Mixte manages the facilities with a dynamic strategy, and plans to implement a program to reduce the surcharges for new destinations and to develop a program for enhanced marketing activities.

One of the primary reasons for the recent success of Béziers Airport is the length of its single runway. In earlier years, the airport featured a runway that was inadequate to support larger aircraft, as it was only 1,820 metres in length. Work was planned to extend the runway for many years, but it was only in 2007 that it was finally completed. The new runway now enables to handle airplanes similar in size to the Boeing-737, which is the size of the most common aircraft used by low-cost airline carriers. This significant improvement greatly assisted with the increase of possible flight activities and the greater number of passengers in more recent years. The new runway has an asphalt surface, and is equipped with ILS.

Passengers departing from Béziers Airport can use the bus services or a taxi to reach their flight, or can easily travel by road. From Béziers, it is just a ten-minute drive on the D612 motorway, while the A9 is the main Autoroute in vicinity. The D612 is also used from Cap d’Agde and Vias. The airport has a single terminal building of approximately 2000 square metres, with two boarding lounges and four check-in desks. There are also two passenger and hand baggage scanners, and one hold baggage scanner, and the arrival area features a tourist office and the airport car hire companies. There is a general bar/restaurant with an inside and outside terrace for the use of all passengers, and a bar within the departure lounge. A few shops are available, as well as a cash point, free internet connections at the Wi-Fi zones and scales for weighing baggage, which can be used for free by all passengers. However, there are no banking or currency exchange services on site.

The terminal building meets the requirements for disabled passengers, with suitable toilet facilities, wheelchairs and assistance for embarkation and disembarkation of the airplane. All further information can be obtained from the general information desk, open seven days a week, between the following times: Monday – 07:30 and 20:30, Tuesday – 08:00 and 17:00, Wednesday – 12:00 and 20:00, Thursday – 10:00 and 17:00, Friday – 07:30 and 20:00, Saturday – 08:00 and 14:00 and on Sundays, from 12:00 to 20:00. Staff may be contacted at the following telephone number:  04 67 809 909, or by email, at aeroport@beziers.cci.fr.

BZR is the official IATA code for Beziers Airport. It is also known as Beziers Vias. It is possible to enter the following GPS coordinates 43.32333, 3.35333 to aid you in your travel.

Find below a choice of Airlines, destination and flight times from the airport.