Airport Name and ICAO/IATA Code
Marseille Provence AirportIATA: MRS / ICAO: LFML
Founded in 1922 (Oct. 22), at the time known as Marseille-Marignane Airport
Location (City, Country)
Marignane, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France ()
Airport Type & Size
Marseille Provence Airport is a medium-size hub airport - located in the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in France, the airport serves the city of Marseille.MRS is the fourth-busiest airport in France, behind Paris CDG, Paris Orly, and Nice Côte d’Azur - the airport has 2 parallel runways, 2 terminals, 27 gates, and 18 cargo stands - the airport recorded an annual passenger count of 11.3 million passengers as of 2025.
Runway and Terminal Details
The two parallel runways are known as 13L/31R and 13R/31L.
13L/31R has a length of 3,500m (11,483ft), and is the longest of the two runways. 13R/31L has a length of 2,370m (7,776ft). Both runways have a listed width of 45m (148ft).The airport has two terminal buildings, known as Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 (the latter of which was also known as Terminal MP2). Terminal 1 has the most gates of the two terminal buildings, with 19 gates, and many of them have MARS capabilities for larger aircraft. Terminal 2/MP2 has 8 gates, though interestingly none of its gates have jet bridges - the terminal is intended for low-cost carriers, which are very much a prevalent sight at the airport.
With all MARS and remote stands accounted for, MRS has a total stand count of around 110.
The usual traffic of MRS involves standard commercial aircraft such as 737s, 787s, A320s, A330s ATRs and CRJs when it comes to passenger traffic, and 737Fs, 757Fs, and ATRs when it comes to cargo traffic.
The airport has previously handled passenger aircraft up to the Boeing 747-400 (Category E), and Antonov An-124 Ruslan (Category F).
Why should this airport be added to World of Airports?
I would say Marseille Provence should be added because it would be a well-rounded airport with a diverse selection of airlines (with a notable emphasis on low-cost airlines, more on this below) and routes to various countries around the world; its positioning, in southern France, could allow it to connect quite well with future southern European airports, such as any Spanish/Canary Islands airports and/or Mediterranean airports, or potentially even future African airports - all in addition to its great connectivity to the rest of Europe.The airport itself, of course, is a mid-size airport with a rather balanced and manageable layout that would flow well in-game, with some notable features of its own to offer, too, from its great terminal design and architecture, to some rather unique layout elements (most notably found with Terminal 2/MP2’s stands), and not to mention this airport has some awesome views of the surrounding Étang de Berre lagoon, being right next to it - as a matter of fact, part of the main, longest runway (13L/31R) resides on reclaimed land from the lagoon, and as such I think it’d be pretty great to watch aircraft approach or take off over it.
All in all, I think it would be an awesome mid-size airport with a fun layout, and it would be one that could connect well with any future airports in both Europe and the general southern Europe/north African regions - and of course it would provide an airport for France, with its own rather unique selection of airlines, mostly due to its emphasis on catering to low-cost carrier operations.
I can see this airport definitely being a fun addition to the game, and it could even possibly be paired with another French airport, such as Paris Orly, to ‘round out’ the country and provide an amazing representation of France’s airlines and airports.
Major Airlines & Routes
Major airlines at this airport are as follows (in order of each airline’s relevance at the airport):Ryanair, Volotea - operating bases at MRS
Transavia France - major airline at MRS
Air France - designated MRS as focus city
Air Provence Charter / International, Axis Airways - former hubs at MRS
Air Littoral - former base at MRSHistorical Airlines / Routes
(The following tab is a collection of images displaying routes/airlines listed by Wikipedia over the years for this airport, with revision dates provided for context.)
February 6th, 2025 revision:
January 29th, 2020 revision:
September 21st, 2015 revision:
(Do note that, from here, revisions of the Wikipedia page may describe multiple terminals, though in reality these were just ‘halls’ within the terminals, and not actual prior individual terminal/concourse buildings.)March 4th, 2010 revision:
December 29th, 2005 revision:
Unique Features or Challenges
I would say this airport offers quite a few unique features and challenges; for features, there’s great terminal architecture, unique “power in, power out” designs for Terminal 2’s stands (in other words, some are designed in a way that aircraft do not require pushback, think something similar, in concept, to BRI’s remote stands), and various great elements of scenery (Étang de Berre, Airbus Helicopters headquarters, nearby urban surroundings, and even both a Dassault Mercure and Caravelle on the airport grounds).Some challenges this airport might offer, on the other hand, regard involve varied runway operations, which may lead to runway crossings and/or long taxi times, and potential congestion with traffic to and from certain parts of the airport (such as around the north remote/cargo stands).
Optional: Links, images, maps, or videos
SOURCES:
MRS’ Wikipedia page
Airliners.net database for MRS photos
Jetphotos’ database for MRS photos
Planespotting at MRSMEDIA SOURCES / GALLERY:
(Pictured below: A graph of MRS)(Pictured below: An aerial view of MRS)
(Pictured below: The ATC tower/building of MRS)
(Pictured below: Some pictures of the airport terminal, along with its gates and stands)
(Pictured below: Examples of regular passenger traffic at the airport)
(Pictured below: Examples of regular cargo traffic at the airport)
(Pictured below: MRS, in the 2010s)
(Pictured below: MRS, in the 2000s)
(Pictured below: MRS, before the 21st century)
(Pictured below: Bonus pictures)
