History

The aviator Marcel Goulette accomplished the first air link between metropolitan France and Reunion Island on 26th November 1929. His Farman landed in a field in the hamlet of Gillot, especially prepared for the occasion. From 1933, the site was used by the Roland Garros flying club.

After the Second World War, flights to and from the island became more organised. The Gillot land became Reunion Island’s airport and a 1 870 m asphalt runway was built.

The first terminal was built near the sea, in the outskirts of the Maperine quarter.

The government entrusted the running of the airport to the island’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Air traffic developed between metropolitan France and Reunion Island, via Madagascar.

The runway was extended to 2 670 m to allow the landing of four-engined aircraft. The first Air France B 707 landed at Gillot, whose terminal was expanded.

The airport facilities were moved to the south of the runway. The current terminal was built, as well as a cargo terminal and a complex of technical buildings.

The Reunion Island company offered medium-haul flights over the Indian Ocean, as well as long-haul flights to metropolitan France from 2003.

The airport ground services company works with all the airline companies and supplements the services offered by Air France.

A second runway was created. 3 200 m long, it allowed aircraft to take off fully loaded and to fly non-stop to metropolitan France. For its inauguration, on 26th November, the terminal was renamed “Aéroport de Reunion Island Roland Garros” in tribute to the pioneering aviator who was born on Reunion Island.

A new cargo terminal was built on the eastern section of the airport.

After five years of work, the terminal’s surface area has increased from 11,500 m2 on 3 levels to more than 26,500 m2 on 5 levels.

Creation of a regular flight between Reunion Island and Asia (Bangkok) operated by Air Austral, firstly through a code sharing agreement with Air Madagascar then under its own brand from 2011.

An Airbus A 380 landed at Reunion Island Roland Garros Airport on 11th November 2009 on a test flight.

Reunion Island Roland Garros Airport concession was transferred to an airport company made up of the State, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and local authorities. For the first time the airport exceeded the threshold of two million passengers in 2011. Its activity has been growing regularly since the end of the 1980s with the development of competition on the metropolitan France-Reunion Island route, the main component of the traffic.

Creation and launch of the new visual identity for Reunion Island Roland Garros Airport

Start of work on the passenger terminal eastern extension

Work began to reinforce and expand runways and taxiways

Final completion of runway and taxiway reinforcement and shoulder broadening works

New backup power plant construction works started west of the airport

Airport Company ISO 14001 (Environnement Management) ans ISO 50001 (Energy Management) certified. ISO 9001 certification renewed and extensed to the Freight Terminal

Opening of the passenger Terminal eastern extension and delivery of the phase I of the program of investments 2001-2015

Roland Garros Airport became the France’s first overseas airport to receive the safety certification set by the European Aviation Safety Agency.

Roland Garros Airport opened a new and more comfortable flow system for departing passengers, including new areas for retail and service activities. This new flow was inaugurated on 2nd November 2017 and included escalator and staircase access to level 2 and the opening ‘kiss and fly’ room accessible to passengers and their loved ones.

Installation of an arrestor bed at point 30 of the airport’s longest runway, supplied by the Swedish company Runway Safe. Roland Garros became the first European Airport to adopt this system in order to comply with regulations.

Renewal of the ISO 9001 (Quality), ISO 14001 (Environment) and ISO 50001 (Energy) certifications following an audit carried out by AFNOR (French Standardization Association) from 8th to 17th November, 2017.

Reunion’s Roland Garros Airport broke its record for passenger numbers on 28th December 2018, with 2,400,000 passengers.

Reunion’s Roland Garros Airport was awarded the Airport Carbon Accreditation Level 2, certifying to a reduction in CO² emissions over the previous years.

On 26th November 2019, the whole airport community celebrated alongside the people of Reunion Island to mark the 90th anniversary of the first flight from Mainland France to Reunion by the Goulette-Machesseau-Bourgeois crew on the FARMAN F-AJJB.

Creation of an association called Aerotech Run OI, project leader in structuring the aeronautical sector in Reunion and developing a regional cluster of activities dedicated to training, maintenance and innovation.