Châlons Vatry Airport


Châlons Vatry Airport is a minor international airport serving Châlons-en-Champagne in northeastern France. It is located southeast of Châlons-en-Champagne, near Vatry, in the Marne department. It opened as Vatry Air Base in 1953 and switched from military to civilian use in 2000.
For freight operations, it is marketed as Vatry Europort and gave its name to the former communauté de communes de l'Europort. For passenger traffic, it is also unofficially marketed as Paris-Vatry or Paris-Vatry , although it is east of downtown Paris and approximately away from Disneyland Paris.

History

Châlons Vatry Airport's origins began in 1950 when, with the Cold War, NATO faced several problems while attempting to solve the air power survival equation. Planning for first strike survival in both conventional and nuclear wars had to be considered. Construction began in 1953, and Vatry Air Base was designed for 50 fighters with three large hangars constructed. With the French withdrawal from the integrated NATO military structure in 1967, the American forces left Vatry Air Base and it was closed.
For many years, Vatry Air Base was under the control of the French Air Force and used for a training facility. Around 2000, it was sold to civil interests and today is being used as an international heavy cargo and commercial passenger airport.
Châlons Vatry Airport's serves too as a pilot training site for both commercial and military planes. Users of the facility include: Air France, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, KLM, Transavia, Transavia France, Swiss International Air Lines.
Due to the length of its runway, Airbus often uses this airport for testing new aircraft, such as the tests for A350 Velocity Minimum Unstick.
In June 2020, TARMAC Aerosave, a unit of French industrial groups plans a fourth aircraft storage site, after around two thirds of the global fleet was grounded at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Vatry will handle both active storage - or short-term parking aimed at keeping the jets ready for flight - and longer term mothballing, which can last for months or even years.

Facilities

The airport is above mean sea level. It has one paved runway designated 10/28 which measures.

Airlines and destinations