Buses to and from Perpignan Airport (PGF)

Perpignan Airport is located in southern France, and is one of the smaller airports of the country, with around 400,000 passengers every year. It is located nearby to the two communes of Perpignan and Rivesaltes, which are found in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. The airport mainly serves the city of Perpignan, and provides a gateway to the many attractions of the area. It is also commonly referred to as the Llabanère Airport, or officially, it is named as the Perpignan-Rivesaltes Airport. Perpignan buses are available for transport to various locations, and by bus is often a most convenient and cost efficient way to travel from an airport location.

The airport, with the official code of PGF, is just 5km, or 3 miles from the city centre of Perpignan, and therefore, many forms of transport are very quick and convenient to or from the airport. There are taxis available, buses and car hire companies which rent cars to arriving passengers who prefer a more private way of travelling. The airport has just a single terminal building, which although small, is fairly well equipped with a variety of facilities, and the arrival hall is on the ground floor, while most of the departure proceedings take place from the upper level. It is organised similar to many of the other French airports, with arrivals on one end of the concourse and departures on the other. Passengers will find the terminal, which covers a total area of around 1,700 square meters, quite easy to navigate, and all transport options within a short distance of the building. The airport bus stop is found outside of the arrival area.

Perpignan Buses

The Perpignan Airport buses are operated by the company Courriers Catalans, and take passengers to the main bus and train stations of Perpignan city, which are located just a short distance apart. The train station is known as the Gare de Perpignan, and from here, passengers can make connections to the high-speed TGV services which travel to Paris, Lille an Brussels, as well as local TER services and night train services travelling to Montpellier, Narbonne, Nimes, Avignon and Cerberus. There are also other trains available, and variety of further destinations served from the Perpignan train station.

At the main bus station, passengers can continue their journey on local buses which travel the city, or on buses which travel for longer distances, to towns and cities nearby. Either way, the public transport system of Perpignan should not disappoint its visitors. A small fare of one Euro is charged for journeys from Perpignan to Cerbère (Service 400), between St Cyprien and Banvuls-sur-Mer via Argelès-Plage (Service 422) and between Céret and Argelès (Service 401). In Argelès, and after the Rd point des médaillés, the bus continues inland to the Mairie (Hotel de Ville) and Zone Commerciale in Argelès Village, or otherwise referred to as Argelès-sur-Mer. A return trip for many of these locations is just two Euro per person. Bus tickets which are valid for a week or month can also be purchased from the bus drivers, and if you plan to travel frequently by bus, can save a good deal of money. Most often, booklets of ten tickets are available as well, with a slight discount on the single fare rates. An annual subscription will need to be organised at the bus station.

The airport buses depart from the bus stop outside of the arrival hall, and are scheduled for each arrival flight. They leave approximately fifteen minutes after each plane has landed. It is therefore important to simply collect your baggage and make your way to the bus stop. Tickets are easily obtained, as they can be purchased from the bus driver. The trip from Perpignan Airport to the bus/train station will cost 4.50 Euro, and will take about fifteen to twenty minutes, depending on your stop (approximately fifteen minutes to the bus station and a further five minutes to the train station) and the traffic conditions. If you would like to return to the airport by bus, ask the driver for a timetable, known in French as a ‘Horaire Navette Aéroport’, and find out from where the bus at the railway station will depart.

The Perpignan buses for departing passengers leave from the railway station, and are generally in accordance to the times of the departure flights from the airport. However, they will get you there only with an hour or less time to spare for check-in, therefore, passengers on international flights requiring two hours before their departure may need to catch an earlier bus, or find an alternative form of transport. Taxis are available from all areas of the city.

Another possible bus service from the airport is one which travels to Baixas, a small village just west of the airport grounds. This bus departs from a stop across from the airport car park, and the stop has a timetable and a route map.

Further details regarding the Perpignan buses can be found online, at the official bus company’s website, http://www.veoliatransdev.com, or passengers can contact the airport for information. Their telephone number is +33 4 68 52 60 70.