Paris–Le Bourget Airport - Museum

Paris–Le Bourget Airport (French: Aéroport de Paris-Le Bourget) (IATA: LBG, ICAO: LFPB) is an airport located at Le Bourget, in the districts of Bonneuil-en-France and Dugny, 6 NM (11 km; 6.9 mi) north-northeast[2] (NNE) of Paris, France. It is now used only for general aviation (business aviation) and air shows, most notably the Paris Air Show. The airport started commercial operations in 1919 and was Paris's only airport until the construction of Orly Airport in 1932. It is famous as the landing site for Charles Lindbergh's historic solo transatlantic crossing in 1927 and as the departure point two weeks earlier for the French biplane The White Bird (L'Oiseau Blanc), which took off in its own attempt at a transatlantic flight but then mysteriously disappeared somewhere over the Atlantic (or possibly the American state of Maine). On 25 June 1940, Adolf Hitler began his first and only tour of Paris, with Albert Speer and an entourage, from Le Bourget Airport.[3] On 16 June 1961, the Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defected at Le Bourget Airport. In 1977, Le Bourget was closed to international traffic and in 1980 to regional traffic, leaving only business aviation. On 25 July 2000 Air France Flight 4590 was trying to divert to Le Bourget when it crashed. Le Bourget Airport hosts the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, and, in odd-numbered years, the Paris Air Show. The airport hosts a statue commemorating Frenchwoman Raymonde de Laroche who was the first woman to earn a pilot's licence. There is also a monument honouring Lindbergh, Nungesser, and Coli.