Tours Airport (TUF)

Tours Airport is also known as the Tours Val de Loire, as it is located in the Loire Valley of France, and is a small destination with just over a hundred thousand passengers per annum. It is located nearby the city of Tours, as well as nearby a number of other prominent French cities, and has reasonable facilities for it’s passengers. It is only served by a few airline companies, but is nonetheless an important part of the country’s airport systems. It has the official IATA code of TUF, and it’s ICAO code is listed as LFOT. Passengers at Tours will also find a number of ground transport options available.

Tours Airport dates back to the 1930’s, but was at this time only used as a military air base. It was badly damaged, and even described as ‘destroyed’, during the Second World War by German and British bombers. However, it’s facilities were restored and it was then used by NATO and the US Air Force. In later years (the 1950’s), the airport became a flying school, and finally, in the earlier 1960’s, it started commercial flights and was open to public use. The airport did well in terms of traffic towards the end of the 1970’s, as it was then served by the local airline carrier known as Touraine Air Transport, or TAT. However, the services of this airline company became less popular, and Tours suffered the consequences. In the 1990’s, subventions by the Conseil Général helped to re-establish the airport.

Today, the airport is served by the airline companies of Ryanair and Flybe, and receives passengers in excess of a hundred thousand a year. It’s traffic numbers started to increase quite dramatically in the early 2000’s, jumping from only just over 30,000 passengers in 2002 to just over 60,000 in 2003. 2004 saw over 80,000 passengers and the totals recorded for 2005 were over 90,000. The next two years dropped back to under 90,000, but still remained over 80,000, and from 2008 Tours has not seen less than 90,000 passengers per annum. Its best year so far was 2010, with a total of 123,137 passengers. Just over a hundred and twenty thousand passengers passed through the facilities in 2011 as well. In future years the airport management company hope to further increase commercial traffic.

Flights available from the airline company of Ryanair, from Tours, include those to the London-Stansted and to Porto, in Portugal. There are also seasonal flights offered to Dublin, Marseille and Manchester. Ryanair is described as a ‘no-frills’ budget airline carrier, and one of the favourite low-cost carriers in the world. Their services are cheaper than the full-fledged airline companies, and they offer thousands of flights per day from a wide range of European Destinations. Flybe is another airline carrier at the airport, and they fly to Southampton in the United Kingdom.

The airport of Tours is located approximately 6km, or 3.2 miles north-northwest of the centre of Tours, and is therefore just a ten to twenty minute drive from the city. It is also nearby to the areas of Rochecorbon, Parcay-Meslay and Notre-Dama-d’Oé. Tours, although the largest city in the Centre region of France, is not the regional capital. This title belongs to Orleans, to the north-east of Tours. The Centre is one of twenty-seven regions in France, and it’s main feature is the Loire Valley area, famous for it’s wines and other attractions. The city of Tours is located to the southwest and southeast of Caen, Alencon and Le Mans (70km), Paris and Orleans, and to the east of Nantes and Angers (96km). It is also west of Vierzon, and to the north of Poitiers (100km) and Châtellerault. The capital city of Paris is about a two hour car journey from Tours Airport.

The main access road of the airport is known as the D910, and a ten minute journey on this road to the north will bring motorists to the A10 and the A28 motorways. The A10 is taken for Orleans and Paris, and the A28 heads for Le Mans. Towards the south, the A10 continues to Poitiers. South of Tours as well, is the A85 running to the east and west, providing connections to Vierzon and Angers. Passengers in private vehicles can easily reach the airport from all directions, and will find short-term and long-term parking facilities at the site. Tours Airport is also one of the only in Europe to offer free parking. However, there are also buses and taxis which travel to and from the airport. The bus services are not extensive, but do travel to the Tours Train Station, which is a useful connection for passengers who are continuing their journey by rail. The station is also at the Tours Bus Station, and in the city centre. There is no train station at the airport. Taxis are available in the taxi rank in front of the terminal, taking passengers to all nearby locations.

Tours Airport has one runway and one terminal building. It’s runway is paved, and measures a length of 2.404 metres. Aircraft of the Boeing 737-800 types and others similar are used by the carriers of the airport, but due to limited security measures, it is unable to accept aircraft of a larger variety. The passenger terminal is approximately 1,500 square metres in size, with an arrival and departure area, and an annual processing capacity of 100,000 passengers. It is quite well equipped for an airport of this size, with facilities that include a restaurant, a few shops, cash machines, meeting rooms, a lounge offering some business services, a bureau de change, public telephones and baby-changing areas. The terminal is also accessible to disabled passengers, and has information points. For arriving passengers, car hire companies provide vehicles for transport as well.

Further details regarding Tours Airport information, flights and services can be obtained at the following contact number: +33 (0)2 47493700.

The Airport IATA 3 Letter code for Tours Airport is TUF. It is also known as St Symphorien. The GPS location is – 47.41806, 0.72306 which you can enter into your Smartphone/I phone to enable you to find your way to and from St Symphorien Airport.

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

Ryanair is the only airline that flies from the airport, they reach 2 destinations 5 times a week. Ryanair travels to 100% of the total destinations. Ryanair offers flights from Tours to the most popular destinations including Stansted and Francisco Sá Carneiro.

You can see below a selection of nonstop flights with approximate times

When arriving in Tours you may wish to hire a car, most of the reputable companies are situates in the Arrivals hall or close by. Please bring your valid driving licence and credit card if your require a hire car on your trip. To be sure of beating the queues it is wise to book your Tours Car hire online, please visit the link for more information.