Airport & Flying, Lyon

No problem flying into Lyon.

Leaving by international flight is more problematic if you use T1. The security section (X-rays) is grossly inadequate with queues routinely meaning 20 or 30 minutes wait.

The employee on duty that day confirmed to me that is was not a one-off and that queues are almost always very long.

Plan to get there early if you are flying internationally from T1. I cannot comment on T2 or T3 or domestic flights.

Brand new info valid from today aug.09th , 2010
The former airport bus "Satobus" is no more operating between Saint Exupéry airport and downtown. It has been remplaced by tram line "Rhonexpress", operating from Part Dieu train station with 2 stops in between. 1 tram very 15 minutes, journey below 30 minutes. Fare 13 euros one way, 23 euros round trip
more infos on the website below (french only, so far)

Brand new info valid from today aug.09th , 2010
The former airport bus "Satobus" is no more operating between Saint Exupéry airport and downtowwn. It has been remplaced by tram line "Rhoneexpress", operating from Part Dieu train station with 2 stops in between. 1 tram very 15 minutes, journey below 30 minutes. Fare 13 euros one way, 23 euros round trip
more infos on the website below (french only, so far)

first bus is due to arrive, daily, at Saint Exupery airport at 5.35am
the only stop is between terminals 1 and 2, but anyhow, expect another 5 minutes walk to reach your respective counters.
Most of the airlines serving LYS allow home printed boarding passes; this is a must if your schedule is tight, and calculate with another 10 to 15 minutes to clear the security check (usually quite slow in the early morning, as only few tracks are open)
expect 50 euros for a taxi, depending on distance and time of the day.

Flying is the way to get there the quickest from everywhere outside of Europe. I'm sorry to say that delta recently discontinued the direct flight from JFK to Lyon. In Europe, get a Eurailpass and take the train. Lyon has good mass transit downtown, but the airport is quite a ways away from central Lyon. Therefore, it would be smarter and cheaper if you have to take a taxi to share the fare and the ride with a bunch of other people if you don't have a friend or colleague from there to pick you up.

Needing a TAXI @ Saint Exupery airport I headed to the the taxi stop where a staff guy immediately called an available one: 2 minutes and I was getting into the taxi ... sorry for all other drivers but hit one was not kind at all !!!! And you can be sure that no tips were jumping out from my wallet !!!
This is not the rule cause the taxi driver I got going back to the airport was friendly and kind even if we could not speak the same language ... guess what ... he got also the tip of his previous colleague !!!

btw: the run from airport to downtown is someting around 40 euros

BY AIR: LYON SAINT EXUPERY AIRPORT (USED TO BE CALLED 'SATOLAS').
You can get a coach to travel to/from the city centre..

BY RAIL: GARE DE LA PART-DIEU, MAIN TRAIN STATION
OR LYON-PERRACHE
Metro: cheap and convenient.