BAN Hyères (Toulon-Hyères Airport)

Base Aéronautique Navale (BAN) Hyères is a French Naval Aviation facility located on the Palyvestre plain in the South of France. Following the closures of Fréjus-Saint-Raphaël in 1995, Cuers-Pierrefeu in 1997, and Nîmes-Garons in 2011, it is the sole remaining naval aviation base in southern France. The Ministry of Marine began draining the site in 1919 and officially established the Centre d'Aviation Maritime du Palyvestre on February 1, 1925. Initially serving as a land facility for aircraft from the carrier Béarn, a seaplane base was added in 1928. The site closed in November 1942, and the seaplane infrastructure was destroyed during the 1944 Provence landings. Upon reopening in early 1945, it hosted the Carrier Landing and Fighter School until 1997. During the 20th century, the facility housed fixed-wing squadrons operating aircraft such as the SBD Dauntless, F6F Hellcat, F4U-7 Corsair, TBF Avenger, and Super-Étendard.

Today, BAN Hyères operates continuously year-round, supporting aeromaritime operations and joint forces deployments. Since 1967, the installation has shared its infrastructure with the civil Toulon-Hyères Airport. The military provides local air traffic control for both military and civil movements, managing an average of 25,000 flights annually.

The base transitioned to hosting shipborne combat helicopters between 2003 and 2004 and currently houses three active squadrons (Flottilles). Flottille 31F operates NH90 Caïman Marine multi-mission helicopters, which deploy on FREMM frigates and the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. Flottille 35F operates Dauphin helicopters for maritime search and rescue across three maritime facades and French Polynesia, and conducts the "Pedro" flight safety mission aboard the Charles de Gaulle. Flottille 36F operates AS565 Panther helicopters that deploy aboard French Navy vessels globally.

BAN Hyères also accommodates the École du Personnel du Pont d'Envol (EPPE), which trains flight deck personnel for the French Navy, including aircraft handlers and flight deck directors. Furthermore, the installation hosts the Centre d'Expérimentations Pratiques de l'Aéronautique Navale (CEPA-10S), an experimentation unit tasked with delivering new operational and technical capabilities to naval aviation squadrons.