Dinard Airport Departures (DNR)

Dinard Airport serves the towns in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of France, and in particular, Dinard and Saint-Malo, which are two very charming seaside destinations for tourists visiting the Brittany region of the country. The airport, although considered to be an important gateway, is small, handling below 200,000 passengers per annum. It is served by only a handful of airline companies, but is an international airport. The official airport code allocated to Dinard is DNR, and it is also known as the Dinard-Pleurtuit Airport, due to its location in the commune of Pleurtuit. Sometimes it is referred to as the Saint-Malo Airport as well. The departure area is equipped with a few facilities, and departing passengers mostly consider the airport to be efficient in its operations.

The airport is served by two airline companies, namely, Ryanair and Aurigny Air Services. They are both budget airline carriers, and the airport is therefore considered as a low-cost airport. Ryanair offers departure flights daily to London-Stansted Airport in the United Kingdom during the summer, and this is only direct route of its kind offered by a Breton airport. This route has proven to be so successful that Ryanair may even offer more flights per week than the usual six. Another destination served by Ryanair is East Midlands. Aurigny Air Services takes passengers throughout the year to Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, and from here, connecting flights can be made to London-Gatwick, Manchester, Jersey and Alderney. This airline company has been operating their services from Dinard Airport since 1986, and their direct flights to Guernsey are on Trislanders of fourteen seats. A flight to London or East Midlands will take just over an hour

The airport of Dinard hosted just over 120,000 passengers in 2010, which is a lower figure recorded than those of the previous years, but 2011 seems to be more promising, with a significant increase in passengers shown up until the month of September. The Dinard/London-Stansted route also had an increase of 10.8%. The airport has three runways, one of which is adequate for the arrival and take-off of planes the size of Boeing 737-800 and the Airbus A320. The second runway is a little shorter in length, while the third is just a small runway with a grass surface. There are also fourteen spaces available for aircraft parking.

Departing passengers travelling to the airport in their own vehicles will find a few main roads in the nearby vicinity, which make the airport easily accessible. From Dinard, the D266, D168 and the D64 are used, and the D168 runs from Saint-Malo and Ploubalay as well. Direct access is provided by the D64 from Saint-Lunaire, and the D603 connects the airport roads to Saint-Briac-sur-Mer. The larger roads of the N176, N175 and D137 are the routes to follow from the more prominent cities in the area, found to the south, east and west of the airport, such as Rennes and Avranches. Public transport is, however, somewhat lacking, but there is a possible bus service from the Saint-Malo railway station, and taxis are available from all areas. There is no train station at Dinard Airport. Other possibilities may be to arrange a private transfer, or to find out if your hotel provides shuttle services to and from the airport.

There are adequate parking facilities. Two areas are available, one of which is only for a week or more of parking, with twenty spaces. The other is a larger area, with around 300 spaces for private vehicles, and can be used for short or long-term parking stays. The first hour of parking is for free. Passengers and visitors of the airport will find a small terminal building, which handles all arrival and departure flights, and which is equipped with various facilities. There is a nice bar/restaurant on the first floor (up an impressive marble staircase) in the public area of the airport, and it offers some good views over the runways. There are no eating facilities in the departure area, and not much in the way of airport shops. There are also no banking or currency exchange services. The terminal is, however, equipped for passengers with reduced mobility challenges, with adequate toilet facilities, pavement ramps, lowered public phones and a lift. There are reserved car parking spaces in the main parking area as well. The airport has a lost property office, a letter box and a general information counter for all enquiries relating to its operations.

Passengers on Ryanair flights with check-in baggage are recommended to check-in at least two hours before their departure time. The check-in desk for the flights will close forty minutes prior to departure, and the door half and hour before departure. Passengers arriving after these times may not be allowed to board. Passengers on flights offered by Aurigny Air Services should check-in hold luggage an hour before departure, and their check-in desk closes half an hour before the flight. All passengers should also ensure that their baggage is within the maximum size and weight limitations for their airline carrier, and that there are no prohibited items to brought on board. All luggage items should be clearly labelled with the passenger’s name and address. Take note that the new regulations surrounding the carrying of liquids in hand luggage are applicable at Dinard as well.

Dinard departure flights, from the two airline carriers which serve the airport, do not accept children under the age of 16 who are not accompanied by a parent or adult, and new born babies less than seven days old are not permitted to fly. A lady who is over 28 weeks pregnant will require a medical certificate, and ladies over 35 weeks pregnant will not be accepted for transport. All further details are available from the airport’s information desk, or from the airline companies themselves.