Trains to and from Carcassonne Airport (CCF)

Carcassonne Airport is located approximately 3km, or 2 miles to the west of the city of Carcassonne, and is an airport which is significant to the development of the Aude department of France. However, it is only a small airport, handling around 450,000 passengers per annum. Otherwise known as the Salvaza Airport, or as the Carcassonne en Pays Cathare Airport, it is served by the airline company Ryanair, and is reasonably equipped with facilities for its arriving and departing passengers. Although there is no airport train station for passengers, the bus from the airport travels to the train station in the city.

Passengers will enter the arrivals area of the small terminal building of Carcassonne Airport, and will find various facilities at their disposal, including cash machines, offices of car hire companies, a tourist office, shops and a general information desk. There is also a restaurant in the public area of the airport and business meeting rooms for hire. The only forms of transport from the airport are buses and taxis, as the airport does not have its own railway station. However, the bus services are very good, and travel to the nearby train station in the city. They are provided by the Anglo’Bus Company, which is the operator of the urban transport system of Carcassonne and its surrounding municipalities.

The Aerobus, navette or Anglo’Bus takes about fifteen to twenty minutes, depending on traffic conditions, to reach the city centre of Carcassonne, and is available from outside of the main airport building. A bus departs twenty minutes after each arrival flight at the airport, therefore, its important to collect your baggage and immediately head for the bus stop at the terminal. Tickets for travelling to the train station can be purchased from the driver of the bus, and will cost five Euro per person. Younger travellers, under the age of seven, can use the bus service for free. The bus ticket is valid for use for an hour after its validation.

In the alternative direction, passengers arriving at the Carcassonne train station can easily reach the airport on the same bus. Buses pass through the city centre, stopping at the railway station, about an hour and a half before each flight is scheduled for departure from the airport. Passengers will therefore arrive at Carcassonne about an hour before their departure, which is in plenty of time to check-in for the flight and perhaps order something to eat from the airport’s restaurant, known as the ‘Le Salvaza’ restaurant.

Taxis can also provide transport from the airport to the Carcassonne train station, and depending on the number of passengers that need to travel, a taxi may even cost the same or cheaper than the airport bus service. A taxi ride to the city centre will only take about ten minutes, and will cost approximately €12.00. The taxi rank is found right outside the terminal building, and taxis are available for every arrival flight. However, the information desk in the departures hall can call one for you should there be none available. Taxis are also available from the train station for transport to the airport in time for your departure flight.

Carcassonne train station is found almost directly east of the Carcassonne Airport, along the Avenue Pierre Sémard. Larger roads nearby include the Allée d’léna and the Boulevard Jean Jaurès. It is a station on the Bordeaux/Sète and Carcassonne – Rivesaltes SNCF Lines, and is served by the French high speed TGV trains as well as the TER Languedoc-Roussillon train services. From the Carcassonne train station, TGV trains take passengers to the cities of Lille, Bruxelles, Dijon, Lyon, Marseilles and Toulouse, while the TER services travel frequently to many areas in southern France, including Toulouse, Narbonne, Marseille, Cerbére, Perpignan, Limoux and Quillan. Tickets for the TGV trains in France require an advanced reservation, which can be made from three months in advance of your journey. Tickets for most other train services can be purchased on the day of travel. There are also the overnight Corail Lunéa couchette trains available, for travel to Paris, and the Téoz trains between Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice and Paris, towards Cerbére and Port-Bou.

There are various facilities at the Carcassonne train station, but keep in mind that there is no left-luggage service available. Luggage can, however, be left at the Hotel La Bastide Saint Louis, found on 42 rue Barbes. For half a day, their service will cost about €3.00, and for a day, about €5.00.

Although ther is no airport train station, passengers can easily reach the city’s railway station by bus from outside the terminal building. Further information regarding the buses to the train station can be found online, at www.agglocarcassonnais.fr, or the airport can be contacted at +33 (0)4 68 47 18 50.