Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport

Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport
MPLLFMT

Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport

Montpellier/Méditerranée, France · Europe
Europe Europe/Paris IVCA 43.8
41direct destinations
17airlines
2runways
2,600 mLongest runway
1946opened

Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport or Aéroport de Montpellier–Méditerranée (IATA: MPL, ICAO: LFMT), also known as Fréjorgues Airport, is an international airport in southern France. It is located 7 km (4 nautical miles) east-southeast of Montpellier in Mauguio, in the Hérault department of the Occitania (administrative region) in France. The airport opened in 1946, 8 years after the first flight to the area. A campus of the École nationale de l'aviation civile (French civil aviation university) is also located at the airport.

Location

Mapa

43.576°N, 3.963°E · 5 m s. n. m. (17 ft)

General data

CountryFrance
CityMontpellier/Méditerranée
Coordinates43.576°N, 3.963°E
Elevation5 m s. n. m. (17 ft)
Time zoneEurope/Paris
Longest runway2,600 m
Opened1946
Direct destinations41

Runways · 2

12L/30R
Length2,600 m8,530 ft
Width50 m164 ft
SurfaceAsphalt
Lighted✓
12R/30L
Length1,100 m3,609 ft
Width30 m98 ft
SurfaceAsphalt

Lengths and surfaces from the public OurAirports register; open runways only.

Radio frequencies · 11 Official publication

Tower

118.200118.775

Ground

121.955

ATIS (automatic information)

124.130

Approach

127.280130.855131.055120.375ALTN

Flight information

125.900134.375136.625
Look for a live feed on LiveATC External site; not every airport has a feed.

Frequencies from the official publication: AIP France (SIA), AIRAC 01 OCT 2026, checked on Oct 16, 2026. They change with each amendment: not for navigation without checking the current AIP. See the official publication In MHz.

History

The Beginnings

In 1938, the first aircraft landed at FréjorguesDuring 1944, the airport was used by the Luftwaffe and subsequently bombed by the 15th USAAF on 27 January. It faced another bombing on Saturday, 27 May 1944 c,arried out by four bomber groups of the 304th Bomber Wing.

The post-war period

In 1946, significant improvements were made to facilitate the opening of the civil terminal. By 1964, the Montpellier Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIM) had obtained the temporary commercial management of the airport.

From the 1970s onwards

In 1974, the Montpellier Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIM) secured a commercial operating permit for a duration of 30 years.

From the 1990s onwards

In 1990, the airport's passenger numbers reached the one million mark. The inauguration of the new terminal building, covering an area of 14,000 m2, provided enhanced facilities for the passengers. Access to aircraft is provided by three passenger jet bridges and two mobile pre-bridges. On 1 February 1994, Montpellier-Fréjorgues airport officially became Montpellier-Méditerranée airport. In 1998, the airport surpassed the 1.5 million passenger mark.

The year 2000 marked Montpellier-Méditerannée airport's ascent to becoming the 9th largest French airport with 1.75 million passengers – an increase of 18% compared to 1996. However, the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the introduction of the TGV Méditerannée line and the departure of Air Liberté led to a decline in traffic. In 2002, the airport introduced its first low-cost airline service. The same year, it obtained the ISO 9001 certification, defining requirements for the implementation of a Quality management system.

In 2003, the airport received the official designation of an "airport of national interest" through a government decree. This decision, aligned with the evolution of decentralization laws, granted the Montpellier platform the status of a private company with public capital. In addition, the renewal of the concession allows the Montpellier Chamber of Commerce and Industry to continue to develop the airport until 2008 as manager with the signing of new specifications. The following year, the judicial liquidation of Air Littoral led to the closure of 14 routes.

In 2008, the noise pollution was disputed by the local residents concerned. As a result, from October, airlines, flying clubs, ESMA and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation are committed to a "green trajectory" and to prioritise landings and take-offs by sea. The following year, Montpellier Méditerranée airport, managed by the Montpellier Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was transformed into a public limited company with a management board and supervisory board with a capital of 148,000 euros on 23 June 2009. Montpellier Méditerranée Airport SA was born. The shareholding is distributed as follows: 60% State, 25% Montpellier Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 7% Hérault Department, 6.5% Languedoc-Roussillon Region, 1% Pays de l'Or Community of Municipalities and 0.5% Montpellier Agglomeration.

From the 2010s onwards

In December 2011, due to magnetic declination, the orientation of the runways was corrected to 12L / 30R (previously 13L / 31R). During the year 2012, the airport witnessed the arrival of three new airlines: Lufthansa, Twinjet and Volotea. Air Arabia also established a new route connecting Montpellier to Marrakech.

In 2014, Brussels Airlines inaugurated the Montpellier–Brussels route, competing with the Ryanair flight to Brussels South Charleroi Airport. In 2016, another milestone occurred when Chalair began operating from Montpellier to Bordeaux. Additionally, Aer Lingus commenced a service from Montpellier to Dublin. The Montpellier link to Paris Orly operated by Air France joins La Navette flights.

In 2018, airport management announces the creation of a terminal building specifically for Low Cost flights. The new facility was scheduled to open in spring 2019. The following year, Ural Airlines commenced the Montpellier–Moscow route, EasyJet expanded its operations with three new routes from Montpellier to (Bristol, Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle and Porto). Ryanair is no longer at the airport following the cancellation of the last link to Brussels-Charleroi.

From the 2020s

In 2020, Transavia France established a presence, basing two aircraft to operate 21 new routes.

Airlines operating here · 17

Other airlines with direct routes

Airlines with current passenger routes from here, according to Wikipedia route tables cross-checked from both ends (October 2026).

Photo: Lécuyer-couqueberg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · view original

Data from OurAirports (public domain) · destinations and airlines from Wikipedia route tables (CC BY-SA, 2026), unless another source is given · profile and photo from Wikidata/Wikimedia Commons (CC0 / CC) · summary and history from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

Cite

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This page was last updated on October 15, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport (MPL). Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/MPL

MLA

“Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport (MPL).” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/airport/MPL. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport (MPL).” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/MPL.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport (MPL). Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/MPL (Accessed: 20 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_airport_mpl,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport (MPL)}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-15},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/MPL},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/MPL}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-20},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-20}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/MPL |title=Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport (MPL) |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-20 |language=en}}