Bordeaux Airport has been founded in 1912, after the French government purchased previously privately owned land. Its first non-temporary passenger terminal had been constructed in the early 1930s. KG 40, the prime land-based maritime patrol Luftwaffe unit was primarily based at Bordeaux-Mérignac during the Occupation of France in World War II. The airport underwent major expansion and refurbishment during the 1960s. The first scheduled flights to Paris were operated by Air Inter in 1962 and by 1970, Bordeaux handled over 500,000 passengers. During the 70s and by 1986, the terminal building has again been expanded significantly. By 1987, it reached a capacity of 2,000,000 passengers per year. From 1994-1996 an entirely new passenger terminal was built dedicated to frequent services on the Bordeaux-Paris route, followed by a new air traffic control tower in 2000. In 2010, another terminal expansion to be used by low-cost carriers was inaugurated - by 2014, these were responsible for 40 percent of the airport's traffic. In 2017, Bordeaux surpassed 6 million passengers a year for the first time. In May 2024, Ryanair announced it would be leaving Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport citing fee increases, leading to the termination of 40 routes. The airline subsequently ceased all operations at the airport by November 2024.