While the wildfires near Marseille, which broke out on 8 July, have not yet been extinguished, air traffic at the local airport has resumed after a temporary closure on Tuesday. However, travellers are asked to check their flight information and to expect some delays in the schedule.
After a temporary closure from around midday until 9.30 pm on Tuesday, 8 July – leading to cancellations of flights from Ryanair, British Airways, Transavia France, Brussels Airlines, Volotea, and Swiss – the airport of Marseille Provence has reopened its doors. Flights that were scheduled late at night on Tuesday were thus able to arrive, and some regulating flights were organised, according to the airport.
🚒 Wildfire spreads rapidly in southern France, disrupts Marseille airport
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) July 9, 2025
As the fire reportedly reached the city of Marseille, evacuations are underway in certain areas and residents are urged to stay indoors pic.twitter.com/89kY8jKzHD
On Wednesday, air traffic should be able to operate more or less as usual.
“Flights departing from and arriving at Marseille Provence airport will resume without restriction from 9.30 am on 9 July 2025. Delays or cancellations may nevertheless occur. We invite travellers to consult the updated list of departing and arriving flights in real time, and to contact their airline for more information. Travellers with a cancelled flight booking are asked not to go to the airport, and to contact their airline for the conditions that apply. Access to the airport by public transport and by road from Marseille remains disrupted, so travellers are advised to plan ahead”, the airport stated in a press release.
🔴FRANCE 🇨🇵| A massive forest #fire that has already burned over 30 ha in Pennes-Mirabeau is threatening the city of #Marseille where it is being pushed back by strong winds. Nearly 200 firefighters are on site battling the flames while an alert is warning people to take shelter. pic.twitter.com/UHYAwK5x8a
— Nanana365 (@nanana365media) July 8, 2025
On Wednesday morning, 10 am, departing flights had an average delay of 35 minutes according to data collected by Flightradar24.
On Tuesday, 8 July 2025, a wildfire broke out at the town of Pennes-Mirabeau in southern France, next to Marseille. The flames quickly spread and reached the outskirts of France’s second-largest city in the afternoon, prompting the French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau to pay a visit to Marseille the same night.
NOW – Marseille’s airport closed and northern parts of the city in lockdown as a wildfire approaches the city limits.
— Boarding School Bully Press (@BullyPress) July 8, 2025
Follow @BullyPress pic.twitter.com/BslR7asXUT
As the fire dangerously approached the city, locals were asked to stay inside their homes and traffic was heavily disrupted on Tuesday. The high-speed TGV connection with Paris, Lyon, and Aix-en-Provence was brought to a standstill, and the Marseille Provence Airport was temporarily closed. Overall, 54 flights were cancelled and 14 were diverted.
⚡️🇫🇷 Fires near the southern French city of Marseille continue to rage. NASA’s FIRMS indicates that the fires are primarily around Jas de Rhodes, northwest of Marseille.
— Lala News & Stuff (@lala515711) July 8, 2025
Reports from French news outlets that the Marseille Airport has suspended flights. This is corroborated by… pic.twitter.com/YBKZhrVuhm
“The fire is clearly subsiding, but it is certain that with such a large fire and such a large surface area, there could be new starts, leaps and fumaroles,” declared the Prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhône department, Georges-François Leclerc, on Wednesday morning during a press briefing. He also stated that the fire brigade would remain heavily mobilised in order to be able to rapidly intervene when necessary.
On Wednesday morning, 750 hectares were said to have been burned down, and 110 people were lightly wounded. According to the French media outlet France Bleu, at least 20 homes have been touched by the flames.
